Sexy Queers, Messy Queers, Teleportation, & Other Chaotic Tendencies - Reviews feat R.O. Kwon, Akwaeke Emezi, Emma Copley Eisenberg, Samantha Mineroff, Joshua Millican, and Clay McLeod Chapman
I hesitate to make any well-wishes concerning Pride. While June is indeed a time to celebrate the queer community, there are still thousands of people dying at the hands of the Zionist settler-colonial project. Some people would rather benignly ignore the ongoing genocides perpetrated across the world, however many folks in the queer community are remembering the violent and revolutionary roots of what has become "Pride." You can't celebrate Pride and keep your head in the sand. We are at critical junctures in our history as a country, with many coming to understand the destructive legacies of empire and colonial violence. I'm sure in my audience I'm preaching to a fairly informed choir, but if for some reason you don't know what's going on in places like Palestine, Congo, and Sudan, I urge you to seek voices from those countries, as opposed to merely consuming news that is predominantly concerned with continuing empiric growth.
These are thoughts that have been lingering for quite a bit, so I thank you for allowing me that space at the outset.
So why am I mentioning Pride, aside from it being June? Well, part of today's reviews are going to discuss queerness, but especially queerness as it butts up against colonialism. What does it mean to be queer in places that aren't the US? How much of our shame is endemic from the larger structures of settler-colonialism?
Just some stuff to keep in mind as we review...
Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi, Riverhead Books
Praise be that we are to be blessed with a new Akwaeke Emezi novel in 2024. One of my absolute favorite authors, Emezi is likely best known for their debut, Freshwater, as well as the groundbreaking memoir, Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir. Emezi has been responsible for some of my largest revelations when looking outside of the Western gender binary, with much of Dear Senthuran acting as a proclamation to envision wider definitions and concepts of how we view our bodies, sex, and gender.
Their enduring work has been a fascinating study in fluidity, with Freshwater reading like a speculative horror novel, The Death of Vivek Oji taking on a more measured, literary drama, previously mentioned memoir/essays. More recently, they tackled poetry with the stellar and brutal Content Warning: Everything, and a steamy, unconventional romance with You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty. Hell, they even started a rap career!!
To call Emezi versatile is an immense understatement, being that their work reflects their larger fluidity of self, wishing to not be held within one specific space or medium. With this years release, Little Rot, the author combines many of their previous themes to take a deeper look at the corruptions and contradictions within modern day Nigeria. Focusing on five interconnected characters at various poles of experience and morality, Emezi crafts a thriller that harkens to the work of S.A. Cosby, but brings the unique insight, voice, and sensuality signature to their previous work.
At the center of the chaos is Aima and Kalu, a couple whose struggles with sexuality and faith have brought them to a crossroads, with Aima deciding she is tired of waiting for Kalu's proposal, leaving him to travel to the city, hoping that God provides her a sign to her path. Heartbroken, Kalu attends his lifelong best friend Ahmed's exclusive party in the hidden underground of Nigerian society. All manner of desire and excess can be found within this party, but there is a line reached as Kalu discovers horrifying secrets behind one of Ahmed's closed doors. Upon attacking one of the partygoers, who turns out to be a prominent, and disturbingly powerful preacher by the name of Poppa O, Kalu is caught in the literal crosshairs of the preacher's rage, thrusting himself and everyone around him into a race to somehow save his skin.
Joining this cast of characters are Ola and Souraya, two sex workers who are connected to several of the other characters and must test themselves with how to respond to this outrage. While relatively short, at 288 pages, Emezi packs a massive amount of character into this novel. If I had any complaints, it would be for the novel to have been longer, simply so I could spend further time with these complex identities.
Unsurprising to an Akwaeke Emezi novel, there is A TON of queerness within these pages, an even louder display of the main themes of fluidity in their writing. Several of the characters are sleeping with each other and harboring deep love for one another, however, those identities and desires are kept very quiet, despite a seemingly "accepting" community in power. Even in characters whose morality we greatly question, readers are challenged to see the larger picture of how much power and corruption are intrinsically tied to puritanical and patriarchal beliefs of social structure.
I wouldn't suggest this as your first Emezi novel you read, unless you thrive off messy and chaotic crime situations, but it's another shining display of why they are one of the most dynamic contemporary writers. I cannot wait for the next one.
Exhibit by R.O. Kwon, Riverhead Books
Standing extremely close to the top of my most-anticipated of this year, R.O. Kwon has released the much awaited follow-up to her 2018 masterpiece, The Incendiaries. Exploring queer desire and kink, Exhibit plays delightedly with its title and premise, following a photographer, Jin Han, whose fateful meeting of a mysterious socialite at a lavish San Franciscan party sets the stage for her queer becoming, but also signals her existential spiral.
Lidija Jung is an alluring ballet dancer who has recently abandoned performance due to an unclear injury. Jin becomes enchanted by Lidija's aloofness, chasing after the power and violence with which the woman can inflict upon her. It is within this complex relationship that Jin finds much of what she's been missing in her life, but there is an insidious family curse that seems to follow her family throughout the decades.
Interspersed throughout each chapter, we are told the story of the kisaeng–seen as a professional dancing and singing girl in Korean culture and mythology. It is within these mini-chapters we feel much of the rage felt toward a culture that would denigrate their work and status. Within this framing, we witness the push and pull of Jin's exploration of desire versus expectation and obligation. Generational fear versus societal fear.
With Kwon's expansive authorial eye, we witness the freedom and messiness inherent in going against expectation, plus the freedom that can stem from embracing your desire. Included in this is a mind-blowing connection to The Incendiaries, leaving a narrative door open for further explanations of larger implications in the former novel's cult of personality, or, at the very least, offers even further mysteries for readers (me) to obsess over for years to come. It's truly a jaw-dropping nugget that makes Kwon's fiction even more expansive, considering this is her second novel.
Exhibit is an exhilarating character study that truthfully pairs well with the themes of Emezi's Little Rot. Both novels revel in messy queerness, all while pondering what it means to explore one's identity, contending with the shame that can arise from that exploration, in a colonial world. If you haven't read Kwon's work before, I highly recommend both Incendiaries and Exhibit in conversation with one another, as they are truly narratively staggering jewels in literary fiction.
Housemates by Emma Copley Eisenberg, Hogarth Books
In our final book of what I will dub the Messy Queer Trilogy of this post–and then likely never reference again–we get super local with the new novel from the co-founder of Philadelphia's Bluestoop writers cooperative, Emma Copley Eisenberg. Housemates is a hilariously tongue-in-cheek satire that takes aim at gentrification, love, legacy, art, all while subverting our conceptions of the classic road trip story.
When she moves into a West Philly rowhome with a colorful group of queers, Bernie hopes this will signal some form of creative change in her life and photography. It's in this house that she meets Leah, a fat non-binary writer who is dating the de facto "head" of the household, Alex. Leah is a sweet and caring person who also feels as though there's something missing in their life. When Leah receives a grant with which to work on some form of project, they wind up learning about the death of disgraced photographer, Daniel Dunn, whose career ended due to assault allegations. They also learn that Bernie was a student of his, though the connection is far deeper than that.
Dunn had taken Bernie under his wing long before she would learn of his misconduct, and in that time, he taught her how to use a large format camera, which he eventually gifts her right before the shit hits the proverbial fan. This becomes further complicated when upon his death, Dunn bequeaths his studio to Bernie, which she must decide whether she wants to inherit or not, in only a matter of weeks.
What follows is the story of two strangers becoming inextricably closer as they embark from Philadelphia and drive across rural Pennsylvania on an ambitious project, to capture the scope of the state through Bernie's large format photographs and Leah's writing.
I had the opportunity to see Eisenberg discuss the book for its launch at the Free Library of Philadelphia after just becoming aware of her and the book a few days beforehand! She followed me on Instagram and I was beyond excited to see that she had an upcoming book, let alone having a launch party in the city.
Hearing her discuss the novel and what lead to its inception was truly inspiring, especially since I hadn't read the book prior to the celebration. Emma has an energy that is positively infectious, and it truly comes through in the humor of its characters and the story itself. She also utilizes an omniscient narrator that almost acts as the audience proxy, providing almost fairytale narration of Bernie and Leah's journey. This addition is truly one of my favorite aspects of the book, placing readers directly into the action, while synthesizing the larger moral, political, and existential quandaries of its message.
As snarky as some of this book can come off, there is plenty of truth in much of its satire. My partner and I were howling during the reading because we in many ways experience a lot of the queer activist actions within the story. These are not jokes made at the expense of leftists, but rather jokes that need to be made to bring our attention toward where the movement is failing, especially in predominantly white spaces. Much of the satire at the expense of leftists is written by conservatives or neo-liberals that attack the same tired tropes, but Eisenberg cuts to the core of how much of our hyper-awareness and hypervigilance ultimately effects how we show up for others within liberation movements. There is also some of the best fat representation I have read in a mainstream novel in a WHILE.
I don't want to delve too much father into the plot because this is a book best experienced by going in as clear-headed as possible. It is a funny, heart-wrenching, but ultimately hopeful and all-encompassing novel from an author whose heart and care and activism leads to a propulsive, yet pensive story of queer love, art, and the complexities of where those intersections diverge. If you're looking for a great summer road trip novel, you absolutely must read Housemates. There truly is nothing quite like it.
Dear Daughter: Poems by Samantha Mineroff, Self Published
I love my friends and I love when my friends write and release books. A dear friend, Samantha Mineroff, approached me about reading her debut poetry collection, a deep dive into the healing she has done in estrangement from her mother. This journey has been a long one for Sam, so I was more than happy to read this collection, especially since I've been wanting to witness her creative works for some time.
Dear Daughter is something unlike much of the poetry that sets out to distill familial trauma. Where sometimes we utilize poetry as a means of extracting a darkness or sadness that we contend with, Sam has written an incredibly hopeful and empathic series of poems that function as letters from her mother, seeking to explain and apologize for the things that occurred within her childhood and adolescence.
Utilizing years of work, Sam holds the space of healing open for her mother as the speaker of each poem, giving voice to things perhaps a parent can struggle to express when they aren't offered the tools with which to attend to their own suffering. It's something I often discuss with my own father, as so much of our past generations have not had access to the kind of information and healing that many current generations do. We are all people trying to survive a world that has purposefully withheld the tools we need with which to take care of one another as a means to keep capitalism running, without considering the pitfalls and emotional harm that eventually arises from our ignorance of said tools.
These poems understand and encompass these themes, offering just as much healing as there is potential condemnation. These are coming from the perspective of someone who understands that so much of the behavior of our parents stems from their not knowing what to do in the face of structural issues that handicap them front the onset. There is a bountiful forgiveness throughout Samantha's poems that speaks to extended healing.
If you wish to support local/indie authors, and you really enjoy poetry and are looking for something perhaps a little different, Samantha Mineroff's Dear Daughter is a staggering debut from a voice that will likely take publishing by storm.
Teleportasm by Joshua Millican, Shortwave Press
And now, on the complete OPPOSITE side of the spectrum, we arrive at Joshua Millican's Teleportasm, the next novella in Shortwave's groundbreaking Killer VHS series. A simple, yet hilariously ambitious and stomach-churning tale of the pitfalls of teleportation and the utter goobers who can exploit it for the wrong reasons.
I thank Alan at Shortwave for sending a physical ARC of this book, for some reason it really helped me to get to this one and boy, did I tear through it. The premise is so fascinating but that says absolutely nothing about the execution, which is equal parts comically sardonic and utterly terrifying.
Imagine you had the ability to teleport yourself with the mere use of a strange VHS tape, and it could only really send you about six feet in front of you, and the aftereffects feel euphoric. Now imagine putting that VHS tape in the hands of a group of stoners, making copies of the tape that distort the effects of the original.
The central four teenagers of this story are much like any young stoners you may imagine, testing their felt immortality and chasing that next great high. Even when one of them reveals the very real injury he sustained years before when fooling around with this tape, the friends are hungry for the feeling and fun that comes with this form of teleportation, no matter the cost.
Juxtaposed with this central A plot are a series of short vignettes that feature the gruesome and horrific incidents that stem from these poor decisions, eventually tying all the threads back together with the four friends and the seeming apocalypse they've created through their actions.
This novella truly exceeded all expectations I had for it, and I didn't have many. I wanted to go in knowing as little about the plot as possible, and when I say you will never anticipate the places this story goes...I mean it. Almost feeling like a stoner spoof of The Twilight Zone, Millican leads you in with its humor before unleashing the true horror at its center. Expertly paced, propulsive, and engaging throughout, Teleportasm is another dynamite entry into the Killer VHS series, proving yet again that Shortwave is on to something excellent.
Stay On the Line & Kill Your Darling by Clay McLeod Chapman, with illustrations by Trevor Henderson for Stay On the Line, Shortwave Press and Bad Hand Books
Ending on a grief note, we're exploring two upcoming shorter works from Clay McCleod Chapman this year from Shortwave Press and Bad Hand Books, respectively. Because apparently that man never stops writing, which, honestly is good for us.
To start off, we'll look at Stay On the Line, a quick novelette with bone-chilling illustrations by beloved nightmare creator, Trevor Henderson. When this little book was announced at the end of last year, the collective freak out across the horror community was truly unlike anything I have witnessed before, so to finally receive the e-ARC from Shortwave was a true summer miracle.
This being the first shorter Clay work I've read, I was excited to see how his authorial voice fares in a far smaller page count. Unsurprisingly, he masterfully fits mountains of emotion, grief, and terror into nearly 50 pages. Spinning the yarn of a phonebooth that strangely survived a destructive hurricane in a small coastal town, the residents are understandably grieving and attempting to pick up the pieces.
Our central narrator has lost her husband to the hurricane and battles with the grief of not only losing her love, but not having a body to burry, feels utterly shattering. One day, the town sees one of their own inside of the long defunct phonebooth, speaking as if she were having a conversation with someone. She reveals she spoke to her loved one who was lost in the hurricane, leading the entire town to utilize the phonebooth as a means of trying to heal the grief.
However, as this is a Clay McCleod Chapman story, it doesn't take long for things to turn sinister, and it's up to our narrator to protect her daughter from the supernatural force that threatens them all.
Stay On the Line displays Clay McLeod Chapman at his most earnest, delivering a tale that is just as much about healing as it is about dangerous ghosties. The combination of his words and Trevor's illustrations are a marriage made in Hell, adding to the creep factor sevenfold. If you're already a fan of Clay, then you are sure in for a treat once this drops 07/30!
Now we turn to something a little different from our modern master of the macabre, with an equally heart-wrenching novella coming this September from Bad Hand Books. Kill Your Darling tells the story of Glenn, a grieving father whose son was brutally and senselessly murdered many years ago. For Glenn, the obsession and grief is often too much to handle, consistently calling the police precinct to see if there has been any news and attempting to hold onto any shreds left of his marriage with his equally grieving wife.
When she prompts him to join a writing group in town, he begrudgingly attends, seeing this as the chance for him to finally tell his son's story and set straight what has eluded him for so long. Is he prepared for what will arise from this exercise? is he sure he wants to know the truth of what happened that faithful night?
Reading like the perfect marriage of Ross Jeffrey's I Died Too, But They Haven't Buried Me Yet, Paul Tremblay's Disappearance at Devil's Rock, and 1988's The Vanishing, Clay provides his own spin on the horror and obsession of not knowing what happened to your loved one, only to fear the eventual truth. Absolutely devastating, but compulsively readable, this crime novella offers something a little different, while retaining so much of what makes Chapman's writing connect with so many of us. Be sure to check this one out when it releases 09/24.
