#marie-helene bertino

[moonchildsthoughts]

Marie-Helene Bertino

[authorstalker]

My May, June, July, & August Reads

Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other, Danielle Dutton - I put this on hold because 1) I love Dutton's novel, Margaret the First, and 2) the cover art is so different and so great. I really enjoyed the experience of reading PDAO; it made me feel smart, like I was back in school. That said, I also had to skim some of the "Art" section because it went over my head. I was most engrossed by the short stories in "Prairie" and the collection of literary dress quotes in "Dresses." In a fun coincidence, I had just started reading Lolly Willowes, and one of the dress quotes is pulled from that novel. Keep doing you, Danielle Dutton—I love your weird brain.

Lolly Willowes: or, The Loving Huntsman, Sylvia Townsend Warner - Another book I picked up because 1) I enjoyed a different novel by the author (in this case, Warner's Black Death nun book, The Corner That Held Them) and 2) the cover art called to me (in this case, witches flying on brooms across a hideous yellow background). Lolly Willowes is a wild ride—it was the first-ever book selected by the Book of the Month Club!—and yes, there are witches.

Beautyland, Marie-Helene Bertino - It took me longer than expected to get invested in this, for which I blame my tragic attention span, but I was hooked as soon as the protagonist started her high school years. A beautiful character, the most beautiful writing, and of course I cried buckets.

The Alternatives, Caoilinn Hughes - A novel about four sisters! Set in Ireland! It's funny and cynical! Unfortunately it lost my interest for a hot second 3/4 of the way through, but the insane ending saved the day.

Any Person Is the Only Self: Essays, Elisa Gabbert - An all-time favorite. If reading is central to your identity, you must get this book.

Grief Is for People, Sloane Crosley - I will think about the Grand Central Station scene forever. Yes, this book is very sad, but also there's a lot of publishing industry gossip. After you read it, I highly recommend listening to her interview on the Longform podcast.

Tom Lake, Ann Patchett - Some people, including people I know, did not enjoy this novel, and I simply can't relate. I loved every page, every character, every relationship, the Michigan setting, learning about the play Our Town and sewing and harvesting cherries. I loved it so much that I'm going to see Our Town on Broadway next month; Katie Holmes is playing Mrs. Webb and my first thought was, "Wow.....Joey Potter aged out of playing Emily, we are all so old." Thank you, Ann Patchett!

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Beautyland: A Novel

By Marie-Helene Bertino.

[toychristopher]

You are not alone, metaphorically.

[abookisafriend]

parakeet, by marie-helene bertino: four out of five resurrected grandmas

here is a "literary fiction" novel i can enjoy. although it is (again) (again!) about the marriage and in/fidelity of a middle class heterosexual couple (again!!), at least this one is interesting!

marie-helene bertino knows how to add depth as well as hookage to a story with a little well-placed surrealism. she's got queer representation and genuinely deep character work. in many ways this is a novel about whether to accept store-bought normality and settle for that as your life's path or to instead embrace the fact that you ARE weird and different, and you need to act weird and different in order to be true to yourself! a little less infidelity would be great, though. but i feel like her protagonist will get there.

this is an utterly surreal novel that, despite being short, will command your attention as soon as you open it and keep it as-if effortlessly until it finishes with you. the protagonist is about to get married, and the events of the novel take place during the week leading up to her marriage. events conspire to reconnect her with estranged (or in one case dead) family and catalyze a difficult choice that could drastically alter the rest of her life. a series of feverish and possibly supernatural experiences (or is she psychotic?) dip into the wells of empathy and integrity to paint that week in colors she can't ignore. it is also terribly funny. i highly recommend the novel to anyone remotely interested in anything that has transpired in this review. although it's brief, it's highly memorable and overall delightful.

[somos-deseos]

— Marie Helene Bertino.

— Texto: Entonces debo amarte porque te menciono todo.

[fablecore]

I read o caledonia when you recommended it a while back and really enjoyed it. Its prose was very lively--a fun balance of dry and introspective. Def a book I'd recommend a student read when they're starting to get more interested in literary fiction. A book I've read recently that I think has a similar vibe is Elsa Morante's Lies and Soecery (which was retranslated recently). It's a doorstopper with its length but a very interesting peek at womanhood and bitterness in generations past.

i'm so glad you enjoyed it!!! the prose and humor of o caledonia was utterly captivating to me. i've only been adventuring in the wilderness of literary fiction for the past threeish years, but this book, the wolf hall trilogy, and piranesi helped me understand what was missing for me in terms of what i search for when i read. the best book i've read in 2024 so far is pod by laline paull, and i don't think i could've appreciated it as much if i hadn't already been testing the waters of literary fiction. i do lean more commercial in terms of stories i enjoy—i couldn't get through any of the booker prize shortlists this year, lol—but there's a sweet spot in the center of the venn diagram that o caledonia/wolf hall/etc inhabit that appeals to me in every way.

(btw if you love dolphins and sea animals and the ocean and narrative elements that feel inspired by shakespeare and the old testament, please read pod by laline paull ahahaha)

thank you for the rec! lies and sorcery sounds interesting, very in the vein of elena ferrante. i will check it out 🤍

[viewoneverything]

“Human life is quick. I do not mean life is short. I mean, the reason we feel like certain significant days happened only yesterday is because they did. Many of us have bodies that age preposterously out of proportion with how young we are. It’s like, aging in theatre time… we’re all seven year olds hired to play the parts of adults. A decade is not long. Two decades is not long. We say it is because we weigh it against the end of our lifespan, our lifespans are short and do not give us time to feel temperamentally in proportion. …death’s biggest surprise is that it does not end the conversation.”

– Beautyland, by Marie-Helene Bertino

[haveyoureadthispoll]

At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced, but reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognizes that she is different; she also possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives, beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of earthlings. For years, as she moves through the world and makes a life for herself among humans, she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and surprising joys of their existence. But at a precarious moment, a beloved friend urges Adina to share her messages with the world. Is there a chance she is not alone? A blazing novel of startling originality about the fragility and resilience of life in our universe, Marie-Helene Bertino’s Beautyland is a remarkable evocation of feeling in exile at home and introduces a gentle, unforgettable alien for our times.

[deepseaidyll]

”what we love, we mention”

”then i must love you because i mention you all the time”

— marie-helene bertino

[euwormia]

I prefer the ocean the ocean because it is ugly and secretive and moody and can growl.

[letsbelonelytogetherr]

Marie-Helene Bertino

[existingillusion]

Marie-Helene Bertino

[judgingbooksbycovers]

Exit Zero: Stories

By Marie-Helene Bertino.

[mvdam]

— Marie-Helene Bertino

[ashiqui]

for @safins ♡

laini taylor, muse of nightmares / girl meets world, 3x09 / philip pullman, the amber spyglass / @nashpati (x) / @holly-warbs (x) / marie-helene bertino / normal people, 1x12 / @inkskinned (x) / (x) / umang kalra (x) / the good place, 4x09 / amal el-mohtar and max gladstone, this is how you lose the time war / joseph lorusso, playing their song / @holly-warbs (x) / kurt vonnegut, mother night