Welcome to Litsy!

This book made me discover a new genre of book...autofiction. Part autobiography, part fiction. I wasn't the biggest fan. I guess because I want to understand what I'm reading. Besides that I had a hard time feeling any sort of empathy for the main character and that made it difficult to read. This was my first book from the library this year. I'm excited at the idea of reading more books now that my card is updated!

I fell for the amazing cover art and that title 🔥…which are the two best parts of this book. The author takes autofiction to the next level in this one — the main character shares her name. Felt like maybe she was going to write a memoir but then added all sorts of outlandish fever-dream situations to spice things up a bit? A commentary on motherhood and defining oneself, I think 🤔 I am behind in reviews and already forget some of this!

My #bookspin and #doublespin choices for October

An excellent title. In this work of auto-fiction, the narrator is “Claire,” a moderately successful writer and deeply ambivalent mother who returns home to Nevada for a book event and can‘t bring herself to return to her patient husband and comfortable professor job in the Midwest. This book is mostly an ode to weirdos and the desert, and I was into that.

I was drawn in early by the main characters father being apart of The Family (Manson) and then as the book continued, I was exhausted by the lostness of the character in her adult life and it became a bit of a drudge to finish because of that. Interesting story/life though (partially fiction & partially autobiographical) and I‘m obsessed with the cover art.

This one hit me just right. Funny, sad, heartbreaking, hopeful. I loved every word but the story line was often hard for me to follow on audio, which didn‘t matter because, the words. Narration was a perfect reflection of the tone of the story.

I chose this based on the title alone. I am intrigued and diving in.

This book terrified me. The main character was a new mom who left her perfect-seeming life to go on a surreal adventure that made me question myself and my expectations for and about motherhood and womanhood. I only recommend this book if you are ready to dismantle your internalized misogyny and face your own judgements.

A strange and deeply personal fictionalized memoir, mixing fact and fiction from Claire Vaye Watkins' life. There were parts of this I really enjoyed and parts (like the letters written by Claire's mother as a teen) that felt pointless and I skimmed as quickly as possible. I was really fascinated by auto-fiction (autobiographical fiction) which leaves you guessing what is and isn't true. And Watkins certainly has lived a fascinating life.

3/5

Sunday reading

A little afternoon reading break because I'm sleepy but still have more work to do 😅

Doing a little happy dance because 🎉 new books, new books 🎉

An online literary event with well-spoken authors: the kind that is such a pleasure. And now I must read anything by Claire Vaye Watkins. (I‘ve already read all of Zoe Whittall‘s oeuvre.)

Picked this up at The Writer‘s Block Bookstore in Downtown Vegas today.

In this bizarre autofictional novel, Watkins has a mother leave her infant daughter to go on a journey through her past in the desert. Drawing on the Manson Family and odd medical bits, Watkins creates a mother taken to the edge by her postpartum depression. Kristen Sieh‘s narration is great.

It‘s interesting comparing this to Nightbitch, which is a very different novel about the same difficulty transitioning to motherhood. Hard time for women.

Claire Vaye Watkins can really, really, really write. I loved this spiky, funny, heartbreaking, wholly original novel about a mother fleeing from her marriage (and her baby) and confronting - or trying to confront - the ghosts of her past. Rarely have I delighted so much in the language of a book. The words will take your breath away. (Added bonus: Best. Title. Ever.) Highly recommended - coming in October.