the louver > Recent Status Updates

i looooooved “green tea” so much. i think ambiguous, atmospheric horror is much more my vibe.

"The peace I felt in other people's homes was almost otherworldly; I gazed upon things like air fresheners or fruit bowls, wowed by their beauty. I can remember to this day how clean and thick the Henson's towels were. I disagreed with Virginia Woolf: I didn't need a room of my own but nocturnal access to someone else's."

"It became clear to me then, at seven years old: other people lived in orbs of warmth that I was quietly exempt from. They had dinner and dogs, but I had the night."

“Family Affair”: fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. murakami….you are the greatest.

"Ugly Man": LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. 2 pages, but so, so chilling. cooper writes some of the best sentences.

"Jerk": my favorite thing about cooper is probably how inventive he is with the way he tells his stories. interesting concept here, a boy recounting the murders he took part in via a puppet theater, but i don't think it works. woud be interested to see if the stage play executes it better.

"The Green Little Monster": love how murakami's shortest stories are the ones with the most to say. this one is even weirder than murakami's standard brand of weird, but it works so well.

"Because You Have To": i liked the almost american gothic atmosphere, but it was just a whole bunch of nothing!

“Certain American States”: really liked this story but sometimes it feels like lacey uses overly complicated prose to hide the weaknesses in her narrative.

“Barn Burning”: another banger. probably my favorite story in this collection so far. murakami’s prose is so exquisite.

Lederhosen: i’m afraid i don’t know wtf you’re talking about here, murakami.

violations: had to read it a few times to get accustomed to the voice. but when it clicked, it clicked. some fascinating ruminations on auto fiction and moving on from a relationship.

ur heck box: really love lacey’s prose, but this story felt so aimless. maybe that’s the point? the portrayal of grief was very poignant though.

“The Fall of the Roman Empire, The 1881 Indian Uprising, Hitler’s Invasion of Poland, The Realm of Raging Winds.” this story rocked.

“Sleep”: just completely blown away by this one. one of murakami’s best portrayal of a woman. also probably one of the best things he has ever written. there’s just so much here. i keep saying this, but it’s really so incredible how much depth his stories have while utilizing such simple prose.

“On Seeing The 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning”: incredible the way murakami is able to pack so much feeling, so many thoughts, into a 4 page story with such simple, sparse prose. wow.

“The Kangaroo Communique”: doesn’t really go nowhere, but i loved the concept. captures feeling of loneliness so well.

“The Second Bakery Attack”: LOVED, LOVED, LOVED. so weird and surreal and romantic. i feel like murakami’s oddness really helped enhanced the themes here.

“The Wind-Up Bird and Tuesday’s Women”: i hear this is meant as a sort of prologue to one of his novels and you can definitely tell. it doesn’t really go anywhere, but i vibed with the style.

took me 15 years but i’m finally getting to this

“The Patron and the Crocus.” Really fascinating discussion of writing for an audience and the benefits and constraints that come with it.

“Modern Fiction.” Musings on the different styles of fiction and how boundless fiction really is. absolutely loved it.

loooooved the jane austen essay

Absolutely loved the essay “Defoe,” discussing the author Daniel Defoe’s work, and most focused on his novel MOLL FLANDERS, which i’ve been dying to read for a long time now.

Really loved the essay “Montaigne.” I think what Woolf had to say about the process of getting to know oneself is fascinating.

“Marsyas in Flanders”: not your typical vernon lee story. It actually reminded me a little of M.R. James’ short work, but much more sinister and creepy. loved.

“The Doll”: the shortest story in this collection but probably the most powerful. witchy, gothic, but also so, so touching lee was so ahead of her time with her subjects. i can’t believe this isn’t a more well-known feminist piece of literature.

“Prince Alberic and the Snake Lady”: continuously astounded by the amount of detail lee puts into her short stories. this 40 page short story had the depth and richness of a 300+ page novel.

“The Virgin of the Seven Daggers”: not her best honestly. i appreciate the stark difference in topic from her other stories, but it felt a tad too fable-esque for my liking. i found the background info in the notes regarding lee’s conception of the story really interesting, though.