Is it too late to talk about the Oscars? Really all I want to talk about is the dresses. Is anyone else getting bored with seeing everyone’s underwear? What was risqué is now so commonplace. I understand that these women want to show off their breathtakingly perfect physiques. And maybe my no longer clutching my pearls when I see everything under that sheer black bodystocking/evening gown is some kind of feminist victory.1 Great, fine. I’m ready for something new. I feel like Billie Eilish was the scandalous one, to show up in a crisp buttoned-up blouse and a blazer, like the new junior executive at the insurance firm.
The full costume change between the awards show and the afterparties fascinates me. Where do people go to change their outfits between parties? Hotel suites, obvs. Duh. But at first I did imagine Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence wriggling in and out of dresses in the backs of their limousines.
Dolly parts
I recently went on a Dolly Alderton mini-bender, and if you haven’t read anything by her, it’s high time you did. This is light stuff–no Marc Chagall references–but like a perfect french fry or a delicious bowl of ice cream, sometimes the simple pleasures resonate.
Everything I Know About Love, Alderton’s memoir, came out in 2018 and won Britain’s National Book Award. Everything they say about this book is true–it’s witty, poignant, smart, and fresh. She writes with great honesty about tough topics, like her disordered eating or her jealousy when her best friend gets into a serious relationship. There are funny lists and gleefully sarcastic faux bridal party emails throughout, and by the book’s end I was totally in love with this woman. Her epic commitment to liquor and cigarettes is awe-inspiring, and—spoiler alert—what she “knows about love” mostly comes down to the priceless treasure of good friends (awwww).
I could get very sappy and sentimental on the topic of my friends. Let’s save that for another post, shall we? While it’s true my era of spending all my time and money attending weddings and drunkenly flailing about with my pals is behind me, I don’t think I’ll ever stop relying on a few great funny women to keep me afloat.
When I set out to write this, it struck me that women’s memoirs are a “genre” I’ve adored for a long time. I have a soft spot for stories of women “coming into their own,” maybe because I’m, gulp, still figuring that out.
Like most of the women I know, I also read so many books about men: coming-of-age books about young men, histories where women barely register, novels where few female characters are even on the page. Few men I know read a comparable amount of books deeply centered on women’s lives. Those kind of male readers are out there, though. You might call those guys “A Few Good Men.”
Alderton takes a stab at the boy’s P.O.V. in her new novel Good Material, which I also just listened to. The story is about a heartbroken man in the aftermath of getting dumped by the love of his life, and told almost entirely in the man’s voice. Not gonna lie, I started to grow a little weary of his inability to see through the miasma of his hungover self-pitying self, but I’m glad I stuck with it. First of all, it’s all funny and filled with convincing friendships and interesting characters. More importantly, I was richly rewarded when, toward the end of the story, she flips the script and we hear from the ex-girlfriend about the relationship and the break-up. Think Rashomon but not boring.
Well, that’s about it for this week. If you find all these recommendations too light-hearted, lest you think I have no gravitas, I highly recommend “The Open Air Prison for ISIS Supporters-And Victims,” by Anand Gopal. It paints a stunningly dark and hopeless picture of what life is like in Syria. It’s amazingly well done, but I would’ve revised the title to “Brilliant and Sensitive Writer Visits a Carbuncle on the Ass of Satan.” Enjoy!
The real feminist victory for me is Celeste Barber’s Instagram feed, which sends up these sexy bunnies and is often the reason I’m snort-laughing on the train. (@celestebarber )