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A novelist’s memoir about his ~20 years of running marathons.

I know a lot of people who have read and enjoyed this but I really don’t understand–it’s a man humble bragging about his marathon times and suggesting that marathon training might be a metaphor for life, somehow it lasts 200 pages. His novels get a lot of criticism but still have some redeeming qualities, this on the other hand…

How can I judge a book written about my hometown and people I know? 

Admittedly I was apprehensive to read this. I’m always a bit wary of writing seeking to explain the rustbelt as they tend to be overly reductive and turning into some variation of good (educated, liberal) vs bad (no college degree, conservative) and written almost entirely to make “good” coastal urbanites feel superior but not guilty. 

Of course I can’t be fair here. What can be written in a few hundred pages that comes close to capturing people that I actually know. Is it even possible to have any sort of message without reducing people and situations into points within a narrative? 

But the author is also from my hometown (but moved away long before most of the things described). Even I went away to college in 2016 and haven’t really spent a lot of time there since. So maybe we’re on the same page? But I can’t tell if it feels more despondent or I’m just used to living in a wealthy college town where public school students have to choose which Ivy League school to attend while I thought we were lucky to have AP classes at all. 

I’ll try to be fair and say that Beth Macy tries to be fair even if it does generally fit the mold. People from Urbana are either 1) crazy Q-anon supporters, 2) apathetic, or 3) the overachieving saviors. Academics are brought in to explain the overall economic changes (oh and David Axelrod???). There is hope for the community but also resistance to any change that would require admitting there’s a problem. The solution? That liberals can’t just ignore these people they consider uneducated xenophobes without consequences (even if they’re generally painted as uneducated xenophobes). But have no fear, a few heartfelt conversations can end political polarization! 

In many ways it was difficult to read about terrible situations that were probably happening when I lived there without noticing them. However, it’s all just a little too simple. Maybe this is what I expected–everything is just a little too clearcut for reality.  The people doing good are not perfect saints and those standing in the way are not necessarily malicious.

I do appreciate that this book isn’t really ragging on my hometown and using it as an example of everything wrong with America (there’s an effort at objectivity and a clear affinity the author has for her time there and the connections still maintained). In many ways it isn’t really scratching below the surface which leads to too much of a narrative of good saviors fighting bad people in power. 

Despite the authors criticism of such attempts, this does read like a book written for coastal audiences to understand while maintaining a sense of superiority. But fear not, she’s “from there” and highlights a few points of good against the apathetic and grotesque. Or maybe I’m a “country clubber” who just can’t face the reality because it wasn’t so bad for me. And maybe I would’ve felt quite differently if it didn’t seem to personal. 

A few big points: 

1. There is a  strange acceptance that the only way to improve situations is to have a few saviors going above an beyond, fighting the powers that be to achieve any sort of improvement for the community. But teachers shouldn’t have to be social workers and social workers shouldn’t have to be parents. There’s almost no consideration that systems should be in place. Or about how funding for schools and many social services happens at the local level which means that there often aren’t resources for poorer areas. It should be strange to people living in larger cities that the resources simply aren’t there. 
2. Many of the more extreme political views are linked to Donald Trump but the issues existed during Obama’s presidency. These views and the level of polarization/ideological isolation didn’t come from nowhere in 2016 but transformed from general resistance to actively bolstering a leader. 
3. While there is discussion about how many of Urbana’s youth simply don’t seem to want to improve their situation because they don’t believe it will get better, there is very little discussion about this trend on a national level. While it may manifest differently in lower-income, rural areas, there is a general impression among “Zillennials” and Gen-Z that homeownership and financial stability are unlikely as the cost of living continues to increase but wages don’t keep pace. Or do they just “not want to work”? 
4. What’s going on with the parents? Seemingly little attempt was made to hear their side. If things are really this bad then why are they unable to support their children? Why won’t they show up to work? What’s driven them to drug use?
5. A lot of the blame for political polarization is blamed on the loss of local news but very little focus is placed on social media which incentivizes inflammatory content which drives engagement. 

Several minor points: 

1. When focusing on the youth, it seems like everyone is living in abject poverty with a (step) parent who is either an addict or touchy. But it’s quite hard to tell how common this is and what outcomes look like for the children of more affluent (relative) youth. It just felt gratuitous at times.
2. What about the actual social services? It seems like one man is trying to fix everything but there’s only some abstract concept of CPS and really none of social workers. Are there enough? Do they have resources? This is brought up in a criticism of the youth center but not addressed.
3. What’s going on with the rest of the education system? Is everyone pointing fingers like the superintendent? Are things being held together by a truancy officer and a couple of people going above and beyond their job description (and maybe professional boundaries)? If students never show up how can more specific issues even be noticed/reported? There is only a brief mention of statewide regulations making this a slow process although it seems to be almost the crux of the issue.
4. A resilient community should also be able to bring back people who left for a degree. Despite interviewing someone working in economic development it’s unclear if steps are being taken to bring better paying jobs to the area. 

Switched my starter to 100% whole wheat and it’s quite active even though it’s been a little cool inside.

This was a loaf where nearly everything worked out. Hydration felt just right. Developed well without much kneading. Shaped and fridged while it was still very active. (Although I didn’t fuss with tucking in the ends, clearly). Good spring and fairly even bake.

A biographical novel about a great composer being written by the composer’s lifelong friend. But also an allegory of Germany’s progression from ~1900 until WWII. But also a confession of guilt from the author whose early political writings would find favor with the Nazis and cause regret during his later humanist bend (as detailed in “The Magic Mountain”). 

More than three weeks with this novel and it wasn’t nearly enough time. This is worthwhile endeavor of a novel that requires perseverance, focus, and some degree of background knowledge of music and theology. While there is some overlap with “The Magic Mountain,” those topics are only a part of this much more encompassing novel which weaves together knowledge of music, theology, literature, philosophy, and psychology into a narrative on Germany’s cultural shift in the first half of the 20th century. Despite being the shortest of Mann’s most notable works, this is the most encompassing. And really there is no criticism that I’m qualified to give. 

Now, a long break before “Jacob and His Brothers”… 

Another dough that was a little too slack though not quite as over-fermented as last week. The starter was fed with only whole wheat this week before refilling my container with white bread four. Did that make a difference? Maybe–

A little over-hydrated, over-fermented, and under-tensioned. Far from the prettiest loaf but always one of the better to eat!

The weather has cooled off enough that a couple hours with a hot oven doesn’t feel too bad. And my starter has been revived from a few months of slumber (although it’s still a bit slow going). Back to the standard recipe of ~1/3 whole wheat and the rest white. A slow fermentation that got a little carried away in the last half hour but with enough left to give a decent spring.

Leo is at the end of his tether, as we hear plenty of times. He moved to Rome to get away from his father who had returned from The War broken. He has little plan other than writing but can’t seem to settle down into marriage and an office job like his siblings.

We meet up with Leo at the end of his tether, financially. It’s no surprise given he hardly shows up to work (and always hungover in the middle of the afternoon). But crashing a friend’s house party when he has nothing to eat leads to a relationship with an architecture student, Arianna, who recently left a psychiatric hospital. Things go well (relative) until summer hits and all of his rich friends leave the city. Everything unravels, and comes back, and unravels, until he has to leave the city as everyone else does.

This is a heft novel that barely makes it past 150 pages. A lot happens (well not much actually happens, but things are rapidly changing) and no words are wasted. The writing moves between elegies towards the city and humor. It feels like a lot of other novels about lost men living a bit irresponsibly (Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, The Stranger?). “Last Summer in the City” is absolutely deserving of its cult classic status.

Remembering a college lecture on how outside anthropologists would look at many of our day-to-day activities as rituals, Asya looks to build rituals as she’s settling into city life.

This short novel plays out in a series of short moments as she films a documentary in a local park, searches for an apartment, deals with pressure to start a family, handles friendships, and navigates aging relatives living in other countries.

This is a quiet and subtle novel and most parts feel like they’re being recounted later or seen from some distance (as a film?). Yet this doesn’t detract or downplay the joys and struggles and uncomfortable situations are not spared (but also not dwelled upon). Mostly, this is a novel focusing on very mundane aspects of life but it succeeds in showing the ritual.

(And what a great cover with the Torbjørn Rødland photograph!)

I like Rachel Cusk’s writing. I loved “Outline.” So I picked up “Parade” once it came out in paperback with some apprehension as the premise was a bit odd (no characters, just a mix of artists all named “G” that vary in age, artistic medium, and gender) and the reviews seemed mixed. I think this one needs another read through because I enjoyed parts of it (especially the second half) but feel like I missed a lot because I didn’t really know what was going on a lot of the time.

“Winesburg, Ohio” is what I’ve said is my favorite book and yet I’ve only read it once (and it’s probably been overtaken by Szabo’s “The Door”). I recently picked up a very nice Franklin Press edition of this book (not a novel, arguably) and decided to give it a second read.

I went a little too fast and didn’t quite give it the time that it takes. This is a collection of stories about characters from a small fictional town before the American industrial revolution and not nlong after the Civil War. But there’s also some level of narrative as it follows George Willard through his early adulthood and as he moves away from Winesburg (probably Clyde, Ohio).

But in any case, this is a great work as it captures both a certain loneliness and inescapably togetherness of small town life. While it’s often called outdated, the characters and experiences, on some level, still capture the essence of small, rural towns.