rent free book club: the may read

and some housekeeping x

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for our inaugural book club, we read the ever brilliant toni morrison’s jazz, chattering away and exchanging memes and reaction pics as we went along in our chat [PSA- if you’d like to join us, just click below and you will be whizzed away into all our chaos. you can pin the chat by clicking the three little dots on the right hand side so you don’t have to scroll to find us]:

it was lovely to know that around the world, dozens of others were tussling with the likes of joe and violet, trying desperately to understand their hurt and bear testimony to it all as i was. whenever i needed a space to freak out, i had others already there feeling the same way i was. it was just the most fulfilling start to what i hope becomes a beautiful staple in all of our lives- insert watery eyed emoji of gratitude here.

as a new month makes herself known (spring is joy and thus feminine in my eyes), a new book will take center stage here at rent free. are you ready to meet may’s pick? we will be reading:

all the lovers in the night by meiko kawakami

i read my first kawakami book earlier this year. heaven- a novel that follows two schoolkids as they try to survive their bullies in school- sucker punched me in the stomach and left me for dead. i will never, ever forget what reading the last fifty pages of that book felt like. i have never wished death on a bunch of children before; i needed them UNDER the prison. we talk about the cruelty adults inflict on children (rightly) but when do we discuss the cruelty and damage children are capable of doing to other children? it raised so many question about morality and what self-love looks like at that age (the main character has a lazy eye and it is this that predominantly makes him a target).

i went back and forth about whether to make heaven this month’s pick but selfishly, i want to unfurl new stories with you all-hence my selection of all the lovers instead.

mieko kawakami is who i want to be when i grow up. the booker prize nominated author is as brilliant a musician and singer as she is a novelist which pisses me off (complimentary). her acclaimed novel breasts and eggs is considered one of the most important feminists texts in modern japanese literature. the book was so clear eyed, it pissed off even shintaro ishihara- the governor of tokyo. he famously came out and condemned kawakami as “unpleasant and intolerable”. for all my female readers: if a man hates you, you are doing something right as a writer. i promise. it was no use though; his hissy fit did nothing to stop her from selling a quarter of a million copies in japan alone. i’m grinning like the cheshire cat with smug glee and slight adoration as i type this.

a diva.

both heaven and breasts and eggs have, i feel, been given the attention they deserve. in my mind, it is all the lovers that seems to have slipped under the culture’s radar and i’m curious to see if her least explored book is her best one. i have heard rumors that it is as romantic as it is jaded (do NOT read miss kawakami if you want to feel better about the world lol). i am a whore for a book with some contained heartbreak, so naturally i cannot wait.

she’s a short read (around 200 pages or so) and i did this on purpose too. i know we all have different reading speeds so for anyone still finishing up jazz, i hope me picking a shorter read stops you from stressing out about playing catch up. you’ve got this x

housekeeping

• after going back and forth for weeks about whether i should run the book club for paid subscribers only, i’ve decided that i will always keep the rent free book club free. in my mind, i started this newsletter to connect with people and this club has given me the most direct access i’ve had to our community in awhile. it’s made me selfish for more. i will, though, be posting a subscription only piece every saturday for all my paid subscribers so you’ll have those to look forward to from now on.

• trying to pin down a time for our end of month zoom meeting for the club has been a headache, so i decided to try this a different way and name a time so everyone can simply plan ahead. right now, the time i have down will be:

Sunday 1st of June at 6pm BST which equals 1pm EDT which equals 10am PDT (trying to figure this out nearly had smoke coming out of my ears. this is why i’m a writer).

• if this doesn’t work for people, i’ll obviously change it but if it’s doable for most of us, i’ll keep the time the same for every meeting from now on so people can keep it in their calendars.

• lastly: thank you all for your hospitality and warmth. the internet is a toilet but this community makes me feel sane and seen. may every good thing find you my precious readers.

until next time loves,

aa x