Today I’m writing from a new pastry shop in town, one of those places with just a few tables, no music blasting, and a pastry chef who wears a tall white hat.
I’ve already got two pistachio brioches in my bag, and I’ll be spending the morning at the library with my journal and my book. I’ve got less than three hours left of the Gone with the Wind audiobook, which I’m listening to while I sip my cappuccino. A quiet, cool morning, after last night’s storm.
Finally, things feel good.
In print
- On my nightstand: The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.
- Scattered thoughts: Desai’s ability to capture Indian culture is truly one of a kind. It’s not just about the families who live in India, amid the smog and the spices, but also about those who leave. Young Sonia and Sunny carry the weight of centuries-old expectations, of a society that doesn’t understand but still judges. And they carry the weight of a love that feels impossible, shaped by a culture that never taught them how to communicate — only how to judge. The way Kiran Desai handles these emotions is honest and unflinching, with descriptions that capture a world we can never fully understand from the outside.
In audiobook (spoiler alert)
- For walks through the sweltering countryside: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
- Scattered thoughts: there are spoilers here, just so you know. So if you haven’t read this book yet, I’ll see you further down the page. I honestly can’t believe Scarlett and Rhett actually get married. And that they even have a daughter — obviously the most beautiful of the whole litter. Let’s give Rhett his due, too. Head over heels for Scarlett (nobody can convince me otherwise), the poor man doesn’t know which way to turn. Meanwhile, modern-day America is trying to figure out its own identity. With mixed results, at best.
Stories I’m curious about
I keep telling myself I’ll read Max, Mischa, and the Tet Offensive by Harstad, but if Desai’s book ends badly, I feel like I’ll have earned myself something lighter. Maybe another handsome cowboy on an American ranch, like the cowboys of Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage.
Gone with the Wind worked out well for me, so I’m thinking of downloading a few more classics. Still hoping to get lucky and find another story that clicks with me, after the Moby Dick fiasco. The frontrunner? Another brick of a book: Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann.
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