Status Updates From Nightjar: Stories

Nightjar: 4/5.

🤧🤧🤧 Me tuvo muy sentimental. Cuando separan a un animal de un infante que se encariñó me tocan todas las fibras sensibles. Es el cuento más místico/mágico de este compendio. Hasta un cubo de agua Emily Ruskovich lo hace magia. ADORÉ.

I heard you singing: 5/5 💫.

QUÉ CUENTO TAN BELLO Y TRÁGICO OMG.
Amé la sensibilidad, el tono trágico (otra vez) y las relaciones tan bien reflejadas entre padres, hijos y hermanos. Rompió mi corazón que Will viviera con el trauma de no poder salvar a su hermano por una segunda vez. Bellísimo. El mejor logrado hasta ahora.

Round Lake: 4/5.

Aborda el tema de la muerte de una madre ahogada en un lago y las secuelas que dejó ese accidente en su hija. Sigo encantado por cómo proyecta las dimensiones psicológicas de sus personajes, y cómo el tema de la memoria juega un papel muy importante para crear incertidumbre. Se sintió tan real el tratamiento del duelo; me recordó a una historia de Ferrante.

Owl: 3.5/5

Siento que pudo haber aprovechado mejor los momentos de desconcierto, pero en sí el giro al final te deja escalofríos. La voz del narrador le quedó superbién. Una vez más los matrimonios disfuncionales omgggg.

Victor's Room: 4/5.

Moraleja: Todos los hombres mienten.

I’m going to finish THREE books very soon (this, the Forgiveness book, and my current audio book), but won’t be able to write reviews until sometime next week. The next couple books I have lined up are probably fairly quick reads, too. I’m putting myself in a precarious position. I don’t want to get in the habit of NOT writing reviews because it is important to me. I hope I don’t let it fall by the wayside.

Some of the paragraphs I read today—and rereading some quotes I’d saved from yesterday—I was struck by how perfect they are. Like each word was very deliberately chosen to offer this beautiful, melancholy poignancy. I remember now: this is how I felt reading IDAHO. It’s how I felt reading LINCOLN IN THE BARDO, too. Like every word is perfect. Like it’s unreal that writing this good exists.

I read stories 2 & 3. The second I didn’t really connect with much. The third was very good, but I still think the first was the best so far. I wanted to say this yesterday but ran out of characters: the writing sort of gives me Sittenfeld vibes, but much more melancholy. Her themes are more grief and loss whereas C.S. offers a kind of self-aware nostalgia. I’m definitely still feeling right to call myself a fan.

I may read more today, but I just finished the first of the five stories in this book and I want to say: it was excellent. I worried, slightly, if I had built up my memory of Ruskovich’s IDAHO too much in my mind. Was it really as perfect as I tell people it was? It’s been years now since I’ve read it. Based on the first of this collection, I think I was right to still hold Ruskovich high esteem. ❤️

Round Lake was the perfect description of how our memories work and what happens to us when we realize our memories from childhood are not accurate.

The second story, Owl, was tender and heartbreaking. I felt so much for both characters.