I haven't read the first one, but I loved these two novels, and your appreciation of them is inspiring the desire for re-reads (and to finally get to the debut).
Would be curious to hear any thoughts you have on Rachel Kushner -- a very different writer, but one I think of as being in Offill's cohort, and in her league.
I have read only Flamethrowers, which I respected more than enjoyed. It is tempting to write about it, but it would demand a reread first, and the list of things to read only gets longer....
Offil's debut is quite good. It's a little slow to start, but you can easily see from where her current style developed. There are some scenes I'm still thinking about / cringing at. Good send up of the manic pixie dream mom ideal.
This review reminded me that I enjoyed Weather, although not as much as The Department of Speculation, and then that it seemed that Lauren Oyler was kind of mocking Jenny Offill in that section of Fake Accounts where she has the narrator write it in a style of observations that the narrator derides. That sent me down a short internet search which reminded me that Lauren Oyler reviewed Weather for the New Yorker and felt it was not really a novel, but "twitter fiction." Just curious what you think of that review and what you thought about that section of Fake Accounts. It seemed weirdly aggressive but maybe it's healthy to have this kind of intrafiction discourse?
I didn't particularly recognize a parody of Offill in Fake Accounts, but that's only to say that Oyler is a bad writer; she is the most pure example of a "literary phenomenon" driven entirely by an aggressive publishing house I can imagine. Offill is a vastly superior prose stylist - which is not hard when compared to Lauren Oyler - and writes with genuine emotional courage. Oyler has never written a single thing that she didn't write from behind the numbing defense of a smirk that she has no reason to wear on her face, unless she thinks being the subject of aggressive marketing is worth being smug about. Look I think Oyler has all of the tools. Certainly she has every ability to be a great essayist, though I have much less faith in her potential as a novelist. But she's so utterly dedicated to being an internet celebrity and the reigning Cool Girl of the Verson loft that she probably never will. Someone should tell her that being arch is not the same as being interesting.
Jenny Offill is an inspiration, to me, in many ways, and she can't be diminished by someone like Oyler.
She has her watch an interview of a woman writer and says "Lots of women were writing fragmented books like this now, the interviewer pointed out. Having read several because they were easy to finish, I couldn't help but object: this trendy style was melodramatic, insinuating utmost meaning where there was only hollow prose, and in its attempts to reflect the world as a sequence of distinct and clearly formed ideas, it ran counter to how reality actually worked." But then she has a 40 page chunk of the book in which she tries out the style using astrological signs as structure -- it seemed like it was certainly aimed at least a bit at Offill. I have to assume that one reason I prefer Offill is that she is of my generation and Oyler is not.
Because you think people didn't read this piece, I'm coming back to say that when I read it (which was right after you posted it), I immediately bought Weather. I hope you'll keep writing about things you love as well as things that are controversial.
Just so you know, I read this book and loved it, and I read this review and loved it. It was a lovely review befitting a lovely book, and one the lines took my breath away. Your fiction reviews are delicious; please do not stop.
Freddie, I think you should consider writing a contemporary novel. Your writing is beyond excellent, but it's your insightfulness that so often sets you apart from others, and I have no doubt that you'll be able to translate that insightfulness into fiction that people can connect with in a way that transcends the page. Take the subject matter you care most about right now, whatever that might be - ideally something that's socially prevalent - figure out what message you want the reader to walk away with, and create a story that reads as if it's nonfiction. I'd be fascinated to see what you come up with.
Jesus christ what a good review. Just getting into you, Freddie, but I think you're the writer I've been looking for.
Amazing, perceptive, and FUNNY writer. So happy I got to discover her this year. More book reviews, pls.
I haven't read the first one, but I loved these two novels, and your appreciation of them is inspiring the desire for re-reads (and to finally get to the debut).
Would be curious to hear any thoughts you have on Rachel Kushner -- a very different writer, but one I think of as being in Offill's cohort, and in her league.
I have read only Flamethrowers, which I respected more than enjoyed. It is tempting to write about it, but it would demand a reread first, and the list of things to read only gets longer....
Offil's debut is quite good. It's a little slow to start, but you can easily see from where her current style developed. There are some scenes I'm still thinking about / cringing at. Good send up of the manic pixie dream mom ideal.
This book sounds like a worthy read. Naturally, the stuff about how it looks thoughtfully at the liberal panic of the Trump years intrigues me.
It was a pleasure to read this review, then walk upstairs at the library where I work to take Weather from its place on the shelf.
This review reminded me that I enjoyed Weather, although not as much as The Department of Speculation, and then that it seemed that Lauren Oyler was kind of mocking Jenny Offill in that section of Fake Accounts where she has the narrator write it in a style of observations that the narrator derides. That sent me down a short internet search which reminded me that Lauren Oyler reviewed Weather for the New Yorker and felt it was not really a novel, but "twitter fiction." Just curious what you think of that review and what you thought about that section of Fake Accounts. It seemed weirdly aggressive but maybe it's healthy to have this kind of intrafiction discourse?
I didn't particularly recognize a parody of Offill in Fake Accounts, but that's only to say that Oyler is a bad writer; she is the most pure example of a "literary phenomenon" driven entirely by an aggressive publishing house I can imagine. Offill is a vastly superior prose stylist - which is not hard when compared to Lauren Oyler - and writes with genuine emotional courage. Oyler has never written a single thing that she didn't write from behind the numbing defense of a smirk that she has no reason to wear on her face, unless she thinks being the subject of aggressive marketing is worth being smug about. Look I think Oyler has all of the tools. Certainly she has every ability to be a great essayist, though I have much less faith in her potential as a novelist. But she's so utterly dedicated to being an internet celebrity and the reigning Cool Girl of the Verson loft that she probably never will. Someone should tell her that being arch is not the same as being interesting.
Jenny Offill is an inspiration, to me, in many ways, and she can't be diminished by someone like Oyler.
https://freddiedeboer.substack.com/p/review-lauren-oylers-fake-accounts
She has her watch an interview of a woman writer and says "Lots of women were writing fragmented books like this now, the interviewer pointed out. Having read several because they were easy to finish, I couldn't help but object: this trendy style was melodramatic, insinuating utmost meaning where there was only hollow prose, and in its attempts to reflect the world as a sequence of distinct and clearly formed ideas, it ran counter to how reality actually worked." But then she has a 40 page chunk of the book in which she tries out the style using astrological signs as structure -- it seemed like it was certainly aimed at least a bit at Offill. I have to assume that one reason I prefer Offill is that she is of my generation and Oyler is not.
Oyler thinks prose is hollow because she thinks being a writer is about everything but writing
I'm amused that her first novel came out in February and she already has her own sparse (but extensively indexed)Wikipedia page.
Because you think people didn't read this piece, I'm coming back to say that when I read it (which was right after you posted it), I immediately bought Weather. I hope you'll keep writing about things you love as well as things that are controversial.
Just so you know, I read this book and loved it, and I read this review and loved it. It was a lovely review befitting a lovely book, and one the lines took my breath away. Your fiction reviews are delicious; please do not stop.
Freddie, I think you should consider writing a contemporary novel. Your writing is beyond excellent, but it's your insightfulness that so often sets you apart from others, and I have no doubt that you'll be able to translate that insightfulness into fiction that people can connect with in a way that transcends the page. Take the subject matter you care most about right now, whatever that might be - ideally something that's socially prevalent - figure out what message you want the reader to walk away with, and create a story that reads as if it's nonfiction. I'd be fascinated to see what you come up with.
Have you by any chance read any of her children’s books? I think you might really like Sparky. It’s drawn from the same well.