The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty

(bad title and cover quote ngl)

first reread of the year goes to this novel which was actually one of the first books that made me fall in love with reading when I was like 16. Paul Beatty is best known for The Sellout but this debut novel of his is dynamite in a bottle with unforgettable scenes & characters. written in poetic prose with biting humor regarding heavy topics, it's about a black kid in 1990's LA who grew up in a beach town with white kids until his mom decides he isn't black enough and moves him to a gang ridden neighborhood. still hilarious and probably more profound than I could understand, I enjoyed this as much as when I was a kid but now I see it does feel a bit rushed and some parts/characters could've used more fleshing out

singularly funny and thought provoking, could've used 100 more pages

8.5/10

Un Episodio en la Vida del Pintor Viajero (An Episode in the Life of A Landscape Painter) by César Aira

part biography part fiction, this novella starts out charting the life of a real German painter who traveled through South America painting landscapes in the mid 19th century. what starts as routine suddenly takes a fictional turn for the worse and we follow the painter try to recover from tragedy. non-violent western which touched on topics of identity, madness, and art. read it in Spanish and tbh I really couldn't get into the prose and wasn't a fan of Aira's (who unbeknownst to me is a bit of a underrated Argentine legend with cosigns by Roberto Bolaño, who wrote the preface, and Haruki Murakami) writing style. the story was memorable and it stuck with me but I didn't enjoy reading it that much and might've enjoyed it more in English

but to all western fans itt give this a go think ya'll will like it

7/10

Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig

this mfer don't miss. Zweig's longest fictional work at 353 pages, this psychological novel tells the story of a young Austro-Hungarian lieutenant who meets a rich man and starts to feel pity for his downtrodden daughter. the title really says it all and what starts as sympathy and kind-heartedness leads to chaos. Zweig excels at character studies and the psychology and perspective of the main character made this an engaging read that was both frustrating and moving. I enjoyed every paragraph the more I read Zweig the more it reminds me of my experience with Murakami books with his easy flowing yet descriptive prose. Chess Story was special for being so short but BoP is my favorite work of his so far

criminally underrated classic, master at work

10/10

Fire

finished "Catching the Big Fish" by Lynch, was a nice, quick and easy read. RIP goat

His memoir/biography Room to Dream is a great read as well

Wow! I don't think I'll ever fully digest this but jesus christ what a journey. An absolute headache at times but some of the best prose and storytelling I've ever read. Equal parts cartoonishly funny and heartbreakingly beautiful. Amazing book