Basic Black with Pearls

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

This book, published in 1980 when the author was 65, astonished me. It won the Toronto Book Award in 1981, but the book or the author are not well-known. Weinman in her afterword calls it an "interior feminist espionage novel", & because the protagonist Shirley, alias Lola, travels from city to city to meet her mysterious lover who works for an international organisation called The Agency, I thought this would be Graham Greene-esque territory.

batsy It was not. Instead, it was reminiscent of domestic gothic, & it was existentialist & absurdist. A kind of feminine Waiting for Godot, but with the conversation largely being between a woman & herself; the plot a sequence of events that is a fever dream of memory & imagination. Perhaps reality is always just that. It's a slim book at 146 pages but its scope feels large. I admire how Weinzweig played with the form of the novel to produce this work. 2y

batsy There is also a deliciously discreet but ironic sense of subversive humour running through it all, best summed up for me in this line: "I was about to expatiate on the phenomenon of paradox, when I remembered that my philosophizing causes Coenraad to lose his erection." Truly a gem that I'm glad I read with the #NYRBBookClub @vivastory 2y

TrishB Wow 😯 what a review! Brilliant as always. 2y

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batsy @TrishB Thank you! ❤️ 2y

Graywacke Terrific review! 2y

Cathythoughts Great review 💫 2y

The_Penniless_Author This book sounds like something I would love. Stacking immediately 😀 2y

batsy @Graywacke @Cathythoughts Thank you! 💜💜 2y

batsy @The_Penniless_Author If you give it a try, I hope you like it! It's definitely a unique read 🙂 2y

MicheleinPhilly That is a line indeed! 😂 2y

LeahBergen Fantastic review … but I still didn‘t like the book at all. 😆😆 I think I was in a cranky headspace when I was reading it and the absurdist element got on my nerves. 😆😆 2y

charl08 Intriguing! 2y

Billypar I really like the description "fever dream of memory and imagination" - that sums it up so nicely. Great review! 2y

CarolynM Your quote made me laugh out loud🤣 Not sure if I could stomach a whole book of it, though🤔😆 2y

batsy @MicheleinPhilly 😆 2y

batsy @LeahBergen Thank you! 💜 I understand completely! I do wonder if I wasn't in the right mood if I would have struggled with it, too. 2y

batsy @charl08 Yes! 2y

batsy @Billypar Thank you! I love that it was such an interior novel played out entirely on the "outside" spaces, the streets, cafés, galleries. 2y

batsy @CarolynM It's a good one, I couldn't resist 😆 But no, it's not a novel full of lines and quips like that. The humour is a lot more subtle 🙂 2y

Hamlet Fantastic, nuanced review! This looks like quite a break from your Greek tragedy line up. You grabbed my interest; thanks for all you do here on Litsy! 2y

batsy @Hamlet Thank you so much for your kind words 💜 I'm so glad to have read this with the #NYRBBookClub, I've discovered a lot of great titles that way. And yes, I'm doing all of the Greek plays this year based on an idea I saw on a blog I frequent, so it's one play a week 😅 I'm enjoying it! 2y

Suet624 I‘m with @hamlet. Thank you. 💕 2y

batsy @Suet624 And thanks to you, as well; I derive great pleasure from your posts 💕 2y

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DrexEdit

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

Thanks #NYRBBookClub for another really good read! This is definitely not a book I would have picked up on my own. While it's hard to say that this story is “enjoyable“ I did enjoy the feverish paranoid quality of the characters stories and imaginings. I started out trying to sort out what was true and what wasn't and then realized it would be better just to go with the flow. A truly unique and mesmerizing read.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

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Billypar

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

#nyrbbookclub
There's a certain kind of novel about a female heroine with mental health issues who sees the world differently and at first BBwP fits nearly into that literary box. When the novel opens with Shirley decoding messages from her spy lover, it seemed like par for the course. Yet, as it went on I started to question that assumption, almost like the opposite of a novel where you find at the end that a character hallucinated everything 👇

Billypar Shirley has an active imagination that is at the heart of why she leaves her family life of unrelenting routine for her travels with Coenraad, whatever the truth of those adventures entails. She gradually realizes how being trapped in a marriage isn't so different from perpetually waiting for a lover on an adventure. And she glimpses her own struggle in gorgeous, disorienting passages where she imagines the inner lives of women in similar traps. 2y

Billypar I'm very much looking forward to the discussion today @vivastory ! 2y

vivastory Excellent review! I couldn't agree more! Yesterday I went back & reread the last half. When I first read it a couple of weeks ago I was a bit distracted by construction outside of my apartment building. I'm so glad that I did. I think there will be a lot to discuss & it seems to be a hidden gem from the NYRB catalog. 2y

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batsy Nice review! I found this really surprising in how Weinzweig played with the form of the novel and did so much within so few pages. And as Weinman says in the afterword, "interior feminist espionage novel" really captures the mystery; it's the self that's the puzzle that needs unravelling. 2y

Billypar @vivastory Thanks! I liked seeing everyone thoughts yesterday - I wish I had more time to chat since there is so much to talk about. And I do think distractions can be especially bad for a novel like this. I would have preferred fewer and longer reading sessions given how much concentration was needed, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. 2y

Billypar @batsy Thanks! I don't always connect as well to novels that are so deep in the character's head, but Weinzweig's experiments with form were done with such precision that I could follow it mostly if I slowed down enough. And it still managed to keep a sense of humor and light touch - you had a good example of that in your review 😅 2y

43 likes6 comments

Megabooks

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

I‘m very interested to read the #NYRBBookClub discussion of this one because I have some different ideas about it than the author who wrote the afterword. A lot of my thoughts are spoilers, so I‘ll keep them to myself for now. Glad I read this one!

This is my #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks 👍🏻

This hydrangea is new to the yard, so I‘m pleasantly surprised it has some color this year!

Cinfhen, vivastory

IuliaC Your garden is truly fabulous 😍 2y

Dragon Love hydrangeas 💚🐉 2y

Cinfhen One of my favorite flowers 🧡🤩 2y

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Soubhiville I love the mix of pink and white. Did you change the soil pH to get better color? 2y

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y

Megabooks @IuliaC thank you!! 😊😊 2y

Megabooks @Dragon same! It‘s one of my favorite summer flowers. 2y

Megabooks @Cinfhen I think I have spied these in your vases before! 🧐💜 2y

Megabooks @Soubhiville since these are new this year, we haven‘t done anything to the soil around them. Over the past few years, all our colored hydrangeas have come up pink (light to medium). I‘m kind of ready for blue at this point so idk what we‘ll decide to do next year. But very pleased with these for their first year in the garden!! 👍🏻👍🏻 2y

Megabooks @TheAromaofBooks ready for June now!!! 2y

BarbaraBB So happy to have you join the discussion 🤍 2y

Cinfhen It‘s a very short season here for them, but I try to get them whenever they are available. We had the blues / purples in my Philly garden. They attracted SO MANY 🦋🐝🦋🐝🦋🐝 2y

Dragon I like all the different colours of hydrangea - they don‘t flower here till later in the summer 💚🐉 2y

84 likes13 comments

LeahBergen

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pan

Oh dear. I really enjoyed the first 40 pages or so and then I started to actively loathe this book. 😆😆 I hate-read the rest of it and found Sarah Weinman‘s afterword the best part of the reading experience for me.

It could be the headspace I‘m in today or maybe not. I can‘t wait for the discussion and hope some of you prove me wrong!

#NYRBBookClub
@vivastory

Suet624 I can‘t remember you ever panning a book before! 2y

Tamra You had the wherewithal to finish! That‘s hard to do. 😬 2y

AmyG Yikes. 😬 2y

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LeahBergen @Suet624 Probably because I would bail on it first! 😆 The shortness of this novel and the fact that it‘s an #NYRBBookClub pick made me finish. 😆 2y

LeahBergen @Tamra It was quite short (and I admit to some speed reading going on in the latter half). 😆 2y

LeahBergen @AmyG I always feel guilty when I “pan” a book. 😆 2y

BarbaraBB I love your review, you‘re not often that outspokenly negative. That will add to the discussion 💛 2y

LeahBergen @BarbaraBB Haha, I know! I always find it hard to “pan” a book. But sometimes… 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y

sisilia I didn‘t like this, either 😬 2y

85 likes9 comments

LeahBergen

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

It‘s time to start this month‘s #NYRBBookClub!

@vivastory

vivastory 🍷📚 Enjoy 2y

Suet624 I started it yesterday. I'm dying to talk to someone about a seemingly random event that takes place in the early part of the book! :) 2y

batsy I hope you enjoy! I've yet to start 😅 I'm hoping to this week or next, since we have a little bit more time and because Camp Litsy is also starting 😆 2y

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LeahBergen @vivastory @Suet624 @batsy Eek! I really didn‘t get along with this one. 😬 I posted a very short review and will comment more during the discussion. 2y

batsy @LeahBergen Oh no, that's a bummer. 2y

LeahBergen @batsy I hope you like it more than I did! 🤞 2y

Sapphire @Suet624 that piques my curiosity! 2y

Suet624 @Sapphire 🥴🤪😂 2y

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Liz_M

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

“Lola” is living her best life. Having left a husband and two children, she travels the world directed by coded messages interpreted from magazines for assignations with her spy lover. But does she?

As she waits, she reminisces about past meetings and her past life. The narrative is fully interior and dreamy, with a nebulous timeline and hints that not is all as it might seem and the narrator might be even wholly unreliable. Quite fascinating.

Liz_M Digression: The most unreliable omission for me is where does the money coming from to pay for all this travel? 2y

Liz_M #nybrbookclub @vivastory, 2y

kspenmoll Sounds intriguing! 2y

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BarbaraBB I was wondering too about the money! 2y

Liz_M Btw, @TheAromaofBooks, this was my May #BookSpin 2y

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y

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quietjenn

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Today was all about avoiding the heat, delving into the current #nybrbookclub selection, and bonding with one of our new cats. 🐈‍⬛

vivastory Sounds like a wonderful day! 2y

BarbaraBB How are you enjoying the book? 2y

Ruthiella 😻😻😻 2y

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Caroline2 Ahhhh! Such a cute cat!!! 😍 2y

batsy Awww 🐈 2y

LeahBergen You have new cats??? 🥰🥰 2y

mabell Oh how sweet 💕 2y

MaureenMc 💕💕 2y

Tamra Cutie! 😻 2y

Billypar Congrats on the new cat! And you pretty much spelled out my plans for today 😸📚 2y

quietjenn @vivastory it was really quite lovely 😊 2y

quietjenn @BarbaraBB I liked it, but I'm glad that I read it a bit earlier than I usually do, so I'll have time to ruminate on it before our discussion. 2y

quietjenn @LeahBergen yes, our sweet senior kitty passed away earlier this spring, so we've been feeling a bit lonely. Took a trip to the shelter and ended up adopting two! 2y

quietjenn @Billypar Thanks! I hope you enjoy your day (and the book). 2y

BarbaraBB The more I think about it the more I like it! 2y

merelybookish New kitties are so fun! Sometime like having miniature horses galloping about. 😁 2y

Suet624 Aww, I want a kitty. 2y

rubyslippersreads @merelybookish My downstairs neighbor says she can hear my cats galloping through the house. 😹 Congratulations on the new kitties @quietjenn 😻 2y

merelybookish @rubyslippersreads Oh good. After I wrote that I thought @quietjenn would think I was so weird. But they really do sound like little 🐎🐎 😹 2y

quietjenn @merelybookish haha, nothing to worry about. We often hear the upstairs cats and this one I think is little but dart-y, so I can totally see it! @rubyslippersreads thank you! They are super fun. 2y

quietjenn @Suet624 I do recommend the experience 🙂 2y

rubyslippersreads @Suet624 I second the recommendation from @quietjenn 😸 2y

Leftcoastzen Aww!😻 2y

PaperbackPirate 😻 congratulations! 2y

70 likes24 comments

Billypar

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

#nyrbbookclub
I'm really enjoying this one so far! I'm not quite halfway through, but there's a scene involving this Bonnard painting in the Toronto gallery the main character visits that is pretty surreal and, without preempting our eventual discussion where we can dig into its meaning, I'm wondering if those who've read it can confirm if my reading of the basic 'what's happening' level is the same as yours. I'll summarize in the comments...

Billypar My main question is the place and time of this experience: I think it's happening in the Toronto gallery but I wasn't 100% sure at times. It begins right after a memory she had at the Frick gallery, but it shifts to the present tense. And I can't find any indication that the Bonnard painting was ever at the AGO, but the prior Marchesa Casati painting is. Still, an inconsistency like that isn't a problem in fiction. But there's another detail... 2y

Billypar On page 59 of the NYRB edition, the paragraph "In Paris, I was so caught up with waiting each day for Coenraad's arrival..." refers to a possible memory dated in 1967, but in it she describes forgetting a promise made to the girl in the painting she's currently looking at in the late 1970s so there's a time paradox going on if the painting fantasy is happening in the present... 2y

Billypar And it's even more disorienting since the world of the painting is the 1930s. But maybe that's the point - once she's in the painting she's in that room's time, so she can imagine 1967 is the future and insert that broken promise into her fantasy. Is that the way you were thinking of it? Tagging those who posted reviews to see if you were also puzzling over time traveling matters 🙃 @merelybookish @sarahbarnes @BarbaraBB 2y

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BarbaraBB I wasn‘t aware of these various time frames but she is not the most reliable narrator, so maybe that can be the reason? 2y

Billypar @BarbaraBB It's a good question - like, is she faithfully recounting a 'petit mal attack' as she claims, or trying to turn her despair of waiting for Coenraad (both present day and in Paris) into an artistic construction to ward off loneliness? Or maybe somewhere in between. 2y

merelybookish I think I read it as your last suggestion - that she becomes the vulnerable girl in the painting in her imagination. It's such a disorienting shift, it took a moment to 'get' what was happening. But throughout the book, she seems to recollect a variety of stories about young girls who are violated in some way. She overhears them, reads them in the newspaper, and this one triggered by art. It's something she is very attune to 2y

Billypar @merelybookish Yeah, it was the dreamiest sequence so far in the novel, and I thought I got what was happening until she brought the Paris thing into it. But I think you're right, she has a real pattern with her responses to these stories and Weinzweig nicely dramatizes how deep in her head she is in reacting to the painting. 2y

batsy I just finished this scene and have read on for a few more pages, where she once again vividly imagines another woman's reaction (this time to a drunk husband). I'm not sure if she's re-living aspects of her own life through these associations, & the dissolution of time/space seems to be either the workings of her memory. Or is this book a tale of a protracted breakdown, of sorts? I'm not sure but I'm finding it so intriguing. 2y

batsy A search of this book on Twitter brought this up, because I've not heard much about this book at all, and it's kind of interesting https://twitter.com/AEAkinwumi/status/1363917510626709506?t 2y

Billypar @batsy Those moments are so intriguing! I love Weinzweig's style in gradually transitioning from what Shirley is seeing to what she's imagining. I think a lot of her own situation comes through in those daydreams. I'm so curious what the group has to say about this one in our discussion. Especially how much of what we're witnessing should be filed under 'mental health' as opposed to a very imaginative person having a mid-life crisis of sorts. 2y

Billypar @batsy That's a great author quote - I like it when authors give special attention to what books can do that other narrative art forms can't. It's not about just being experimental for the sake of experimenting - there's a specific effect she's going for. 2y

37 likes11 comments

BarbaraBB

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

Shirley Kaszenbowski , a Jewish immigrant in Toronto, escapes her “basic black” life for a more exciting one: one with secret rendezvous all over the world with a mysterious lover, who is a spy for the Agency. They communicate by code an this time this leads her to her hometown.
While walking the streets of Toronto it becomes clear how unreliable our narrator is. I can‘t say too much without spoilers but it‘s quite the read!

#NYRBBookClub

vivastory

CarolynM Sounds good🙂 2y

Sapphire I really enjoyed this one 2y

merelybookish Great review! 2y

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Megabooks Excited to read this! 2y

Suet624 I had some other books I thought I‘d read next (Valerie Perrin … library books!) but fine. Your review sealed the deal. I‘ll pull this one off the shelf and read it next. 2y

BarbaraBB @Suet624 I feel the pressure! I love that you‘re reading a #NYRB but I can‘t imagine it‘s as good as the new Perrin! 2y

Suet624 Hmmm…. Very good point. 2y

vivastory Great review. Looking forward to discussing in a couple of weeks 👏 2y

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sarahbarnes

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

I really enjoyed this interior story of a woman‘s search for meaning and happiness. I have so many questions about Shirley, her experiences in the novel, and her account of events. Which means I‘m really looking forward to the discussion! #nyrbbookclub @vivastory

vivastory I'm glad that you enjoyed this one! I'm looking forward to the discussion. 2y

merelybookish Yes, lots of questions! 2y

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merelybookish

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

pick

Shirley has an international affair with a spy lover who she finds by deciphering obscure clues to their next renderzvous location. An article on elm disease leads her to Toronto where she undertakes a search to find him. Toronto is her hometown, so as she crisscrosses the city, she recalls memories & collects new stories. Shirley is observant, imaginative, sensitive & alert. I enjoyed being inside her head even if she's 'unreliable.' She 👇

merelybookish still speaks truth about the precariousness of women's lives and finding ways to subvert male domination. 2y

merelybookish A good one to discuss, as usual! #nyrbbookclub @vivastory 2y

merelybookish Also, I will add it was fun to read this underappreciated work of Canadian literature! I had never heard of it before . 2y

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Suet624 I have this on my shelf and always mean to read it. 2y

merelybookish @Suet624 We are discussing at the end of the month. You'd be welcome to join in! 2y

Suet624 I‘m just about to jump into So Much Blue by Percival Everett. After that, definitely! 2y

sarahbarnes I‘m enjoying this one, too! 2y

batsy I haven't started, but I'm looking forward to it even more now. I didn't realise she was a Canadian writer! 2y

BarbaraBB @Suet624 Enjoy So Much Blue 💙! I am having one more book to read too and then will start this one! 2y

vivastory I'm glad to hear that you liked this one. I'm really looking forward to reading & discussing. Definitely an underrated work. I think I stumbled upon it when it was included in the NYRB noir flash sale & then I saw someone on Twitter endorse it. 2y

vivastory @Suet624 Looking forward to your thoughts on the Everett & you will have plenty of time before the NYRB discussion. Due to Memorial Day weekend the discussion will be the first weekend of June. Feel free to join! 2y

merelybookish @Suet624 I read and enjoyed that a few years ago (whenever it was in the TOB). 2y

merelybookish @sarahbarnes Oh good! Will be interested in comparing notes! 🙂 2y

merelybookish @batsy I had never heard of her and she didn't publish a lot. Her husband was a famous Canadian classical composer who I also had never heard of. 🤷 2y

merelybookish @BarbaraBB This feels like a very NYRB book! Kind of weird and perfect for discussion! 2y

merelybookish @vivastory That's interesting it was classified as noir. 🤔 2y

Suet624 @vivastory I think I bought my copy during the same noir flash sale. 😀 thanks for the heads up on the timing of the group discussion. 2y

Suet624 @BarbaraBB thanks, Barbara! 2y

Suet624 @merelybookish I‘ve become a big Everett fan and can‘t believe I‘ve missed so much of his writing. Looking forward to reading this one. 2y

BarbaraBB Looking forward to it! 2y

LeahBergen Great review! I‘m looking forward to it even more now. 2y

merelybookish @LeahBergen Thanks! I think you'll especially enjoy it if you've spent much time in Toronto. (I have not but still got a lot of the street references.) 2y

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sarahbarnes

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Having fun reading this book alone at a bar tonight, just like the main character. 🍷

vivastory I like your style 🍷📚 2y

sarahbarnes @vivastory I‘m loving this book! 2y

BarbaraBB Great pic! I‘ll start this week too. 2y

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LeahBergen I‘ll be starting this soon, too! 🍷 2y

batsy Oh, nice! 2y

Megabooks I enjoy reading alone at restaurants/bars too. 2y

27 likes6 comments

sarahbarnes

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Starting this month‘s #nyrbbookclub pick and was happy to see a quote from Ann Quin after reading so much about her in Checkout 19. Love these kinds of book coincidences. 😁 @vivastory

32 likes

merelybookish

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Hung out a coffee shop for first time in forever today. Got to read and people watch while waiting for my daughter. Started the May #NYRBbookclub book and enjoying so far!
@vivastory

vivastory I miss coffee shop reading. It was one of my favorite activities when I lived downtown. I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying the book! 3y

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Megabooks

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

So excited for this #bookmail plus a #DollarTreeHaul! Despite being tired, it was a really good day, AND the sun finally came out! ☀️😀📚

Cinfhen

BarbaraBB Excited to have you join us for the tagged book discussion 🤍 3y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB me too! I appreciate y‘all welcoming me. 💜 3y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB it‘s for June right? 3y

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BarbaraBB End of May! 3y

Cinfhen Nice haul❣️❣️echo chamber was an odd one for Boyne - obviously he was a little peeved 😉 3y

Megabooks @BarbaraBB I‘ll be there. 👍🏻 3y

Megabooks @Cinfhen yeah, I think he was over the reception of his prior book, but I‘m excited read something different from him. I also have this lined up too

A Ladder to the Sky

vivastory @Megabooks @BarbaraBB Just a heads up, due to Memorial Day weekend the discussion for Basic Black will be the first weekend of June 3y

BarbaraBB @vivastory You‘re right, you mentioned that. I forgot! 3y

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Liz_M

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

BPL book sale had a couple of potential picks for #nyrbbookclub and some nice editions of books I love, and a couple from the Tbr.

LeahBergen Nice! 👏🏻👏🏻 5y

batsy Ooh what a glorious haul 😍 5y

Billypar Great choices! I'm still unsure which Hustvedt I'll read next, so I'll be interested in your review of this one. I really liked Time's Arrow and Bell Jar. 5y

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Liz_M @Billypar Given the length of the TBR it might be a few years before I get to it 5y

Billypar Yeah, that makes sense: even with an author I really like, it probably works out to a couple years in between books on average (and I just read a Hustvedt this year). 5y

BarbaraBB Time‘sArrow is so good! 5y

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sisilia

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Meeting these lovelies for NYRB Classics Reading Society June Meetup. We read Basic Black with Pearls, which gained polarized reviews among us

Theaelizabet Looks like a great group! 5y

Anna40 I agree, looks like a great group. I miss being part of a book club 5y

sisilia @Theaelizabet @Anna40 We are lucky that it remains small 😆 5y

saresmoore You are so beautiful! 😍 5y

sisilia Aww thanks @saresmoore 🤗 5y

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sisilia

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Sad but true! Even though I didn‘t quite enjoy this book, I love Weinzweig‘s thoughts and observations about life as we know it 💞

53 likes

sisilia

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

so-so

2⭐️ Maybe I‘m just too dense to appreciate this novel, but it‘s really hard to truly enjoy reading it. I thought this was just a simple affair story, but nope - I encountered a delusional woman whose memory is also failing her. I‘m not sure what‘s real and what‘s not, and I doubt that her lover is real 🙈 Definitely not something in my alley 😕 #nyrbclassics #nyrb

Reggie And in a way, you made it sound like my type of book. Stacked. 5y

sisilia @Reggie 😁 5y

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sisilia

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Arrived safely in Tokyo, otw to the hotel now. My IRL NYRB bookclub is reading this book for June 😍 #nyrb #nyrbclassics #nyrbclassicsreadingsociety

BarbaraBB 😍 5y

saresmoore Fun! 5y

Palimpsest Sounds wonderful! 5y

75 likes3 comments

sisilia

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

Current reads:
• To Kill a Mockingbird because I‘m going to watch the play in NYC next week ☺️
• Basic Black with Pearls for June‘s NYRB Classics Reading Society in Singapore

batsy Basic Black is on my list! Sounds good. 5y

Weaponxgirl I have this book and it looks so good. Looking forward to your thoughts on it. 5y

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unabridgedchick

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

so-so

A very interior-oriented novel that reminded me of Erica Jong and Kate Chopin. Our narrator is having an international affair with a spy, but the codes and clues required for their trysts verges on unbelievable. As our narrator tries to find her lover, we find more of her. What is true is less important than what is satisfying.

12 likes

Liberty

Basic Black with Pearls | Helen Weinzweig

My stack for this weekend‘s @24in48 #readathon! (There‘s still time to sign up!) I know I won‘t get through them all, because I still have a lot of work reading, but it‘s fun to share stacks of books. ❤️

Jess_Read_This The spine alone on Portable Shelter has me scampering off to research what this book is about! ❤️

A Portable Shelter

rmaclean4 Love stacks of book. I enjoyed The unnamed Midwife! 7y

balletbookworm By “work reading” you mean “comes out on 1/30” right? 😉 7y

BarbaraBB Mrs Bridge 😍 7y

180 likes1 stack add4 comments

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