Colette Denali > Recent Status Updates

I first saw this book, faced-out, at Barnes & Noble in Greenfield, WI. A few years prior, I’d had a several months-long deep dive into Genghis Khan up to the Golden Horde. Huzzah to the Queens Public Library & their extensive catalog!

I’m finally reading this book (a fellow member of the local fountain pen group chat has an avid interest in the history of the Eurasian steppes)!

ps the book is pretty cheesy…

Reading aloud to Vanessa as friends of ours are on the Isle of Skye; we are dreaming of the sea air too!

we read yesterday on the train back to Toronto, but I forgot to update our progress!

We read yesterday evening after a sunny, happy day at a powwow with friends. We are loving this novel so far!

(That’s in spite the occasional weirdly inaccurate academic tidbits - what adjunct gets a sabbatical before even going tenure track?! A semester away from teaching makes more sense. Her own office too! How do I get hired at this lax university?!!)

My friend Julianne recommended this book to me as a Bedtime Booktime selection. It’s a perfect fit!

Vanessa & I love this line:

“Her married sister always said serial monogamy was like being a slow-cooker ho.”

As an adolescent, I loved Gauguin's work. He was one of the few artists I encountered who painted women of color. My coming out years are all tied up with my admiration for his work. (I even had a Swatch style watch from MFA Boston!)

In retrospect, I feel gross about my former affection for Gauguin's brown girls. Reviews of this book describe it as apologist. We'll see, but so far, I agree with that assessment.