My September in reading

I always try to start my spooky season a little bit early, so there are definitely a few horror stories here—plus some other stuff. Variety is the spice of life.

American Delirium by Betina González (translated by Heather Cleary)

This novel takes place in an unnamed Midwestern city where deer randomly start attacking the general population. The chapters revolve between three characters: Vik, a local museum worker who’s dealing with an unusual home intruder; Beryl, an old woman living with the memories of her past life on a drug-fueled hippie commune who organizes other senior citizens to hunt the deer; and Berenice, a child whose mother has disappeared—presumably to join the many protesters who have dropped out of modern life to go live in the woods. The novel is zany, and I liked the structure. That said, the author is Argentine, and I did not buy for one second that this story takes place in the United States. It would be like if I wrote a novel that took place in Buenos Aires—everything from the names to the way people live feels off. But it’s still worth a read if you enjoy literature in translation.

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon (narrated by Karen Chilton)

I was hesitant to give this book a try, because Solomon’s novel An Unkindness of Ghosts is one of the most emotionally devastating things I’ve ever read. So you can imagine how a title like Sorrowland might give me pause! I’m so glad I overcame my hesitation and checked out the audiobook from the library; though aspects of the story are certainly tragic, it’s so much more than that. It invents a whole new genre—some combo of gothic sci-fi political thriller? It tells the story of Vern, a young pregnant woman who escapes an abusive religious commune (that started long ago as a Black Power commune) and survives in the woods, raising her twins to the best of her ability. But something is changing inside her body—she’s becoming something. This new challenge drives her out of the woods and brings her face to face with her past. I can’t recommend this one enough.

Deadheading and Other Stories by Beth Gilstrap

I may be slightly biased, because I know Beth personally. But these stories of working class characters in the South read like a well-tended garden, growing from the rocky soil despite everything. Some of the stories feature the same characters at different points in life. Some are brutal, some are poetic—some are both. The title story is a doozy. Beth’s characters will reach into your chest and squeeze your heart to make sure it’s still beating.

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle

Iowa video rental store gothic is a genre I didn’t know I needed until I read this book. The novel starts in the late 1990s with Jeremy, a young man who lives with his widowed father and works at a small video rental store in rural Iowa. Which is all well and good—until customers start reporting that strange scenes have been recorded over certain videotapes. Jeremy and his boss become ensnared in the mystery, which spans decades. And who is the narrator, exactly? That’s a great question. I’m a big Mountain Goats fan, and I find it simultaneously unsurprising and infuriating that Darnielle is just as good a novelist as he is a songwriter. This book is eerie and weird, quiet but urgent, like a VHS tape at its end, gone to static and hum.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth (narrated by Xe Sands)

A friend recommended this book to me, and I was initially put off by the title, which sounded a little too punchy. My friends: don’t judge a book by its cover. I loved this one. The novel takes place in two time periods: in the early 1900s, at the Brookhants School for Girls in Rhode Island, where two young girls, Flo and Clara, are stung to death by yellowjackets in the woods after becoming obsessed with Mary MacLane’s book I Await the Devil’s Coming; and in the present day, when hotshot Hollywood “celesbian” Harper Harper, former child star Audrey Wells, and a young writer named Merritt Emmons come together to make a movie about Flo and Clara, based on Emmons’ bestselling book about their lives. This novel is very spooky and very sapphic. I listened to the audiobook—the narrator, Xe Sands, is fantastic—but if you go that route, be prepared to listen for 17 hours! It’s quite a tome—but one that will keep you up at night. I had literal nightmares while reading this one, which is a compliment.

Abstinence Only by Meghan Phillips

Here’s the deal: Meghan Phillips is easily one of the best flash fiction writers working today. How could you not want to read her chapbook full of Kafkaesque sex-ed lessons/punishments? Unfortunately, the chapbook is sold out—but if you can get your hands on one, I highly recommend it. Or just google her name and read her work in various online mags! It’ll be worth your time—I promise.