u/Silver_Juggernaut_39

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I'm reading 2666 for the first time, it's my first Bolaño, and I'm really engrossed in it. I'm in the middle of part two right now and I'm curious which films people have seen that you think feel like this novel. I feel like this is probably unadaptable to film which is fine but I am still very much in the mood for something in the film format that is similar to this either in terms of vibes or story or aesthetic. Twin Peaks does come to mind (not just the show or Fire Walk With Me but the entirety of Twin Peaks), and I think you can definitely draw a lot of similarities between the novel and David Lynch's work in general. But I would like to know what more experienced readers of Bolaño think.

Just watched the clip of the recent Kyle and Corrin where someone sent in a superchat about Platner's allegations compared to Trump's after hearing about it on The Vanguard's livestream this morning... it really disappointed me and honestly made me lose some respect for Kyle after hearing what he had to say.

Let me preface by saying I've been watching Kyle since 2019 and he's opened my eyes on a lot of political issues. He's broken them down in ways that made sense and he really funneled the pipeline for me from right-leaning libertarian to leftist. But his dismissal of the Platner allegations, saying the woman who accused him should've filed a police report and there's too many coincidences and why is this omitted from the article and why is this dropping so close to the date he has to drop out by... it really made me very very grossed out by what he said. I agree that the Politico article omitted details that they should not have omitted. However, the details that were omitted do NOT make the situation any better for Platner. Also the victim didn't call the police because Platner is a very large and violent individual who was black out drunk at the time and she didn't want to cause any more problems in the event he tried to assault a police officer. But the most important thing is that Platner already had a million red flags leading up to this and many people, and I'll admit I was one of them, ignored them or continued to support him anyway. I've owned up to this and apologized for ignoring the red flags, and frankly I think anyone who did support Platner should do the same. Naomi Klein did this, she's someone who many people on the left, including Kyle, respect deeply, so it shouldn't be that hard. So why is Kyle still defending him in this way? It honestly does remind me of when Joe Rogan will say "yeah the war in Iran is bad" but then he'll say "oh Trump is so cool dude" on the next podcast and he'll show no remorse for supporting him, something Kyle rightfully slams him for every week it seems like. Kyle is basically doing the same thing here. He'll say "yeah well he should've dropped out and maybe if he did these things he should go to prison, but I'm just asking questions bro" it's the same mentality. No acknowledgement of wrongdoing over telling his audience to support and go vote for him even when other people on his side were telling us "yo we gotta be careful about this guy". It makes him just as bad and he frankly has no right to be talking shit about Rogan for this until he owns up to pushing Platner as hard as he did and gives a full-throated condemnation and, most importantly, actually apologizes for endorsing him and campaigning him so aggressively. It hurts to say this about him because I've watched him for so long and I feel like he knows better, or at least he should, but this is where his stubbornness and being stuck in his ways is the wrong path in this situation and it's where he's made me lose some respect for him to be honest. If he wants to earn that respect back he needs to show some humility and at the very least be willing to say he fucked up and that he should listen to feedback every once in a while.

I just finished this novel and I really loved it. I connected deeply with the characters and their complicated relationships with their siblings and other family members. I also felt attached to this because of how the sibling dynamics transcend racial and cultural boundaries as it reminded me of my own irl brother and our own situation. I loved how each section got shorter as they progressed across the novel, resembling how fleeting time actually is. Khemiri’s writing style flowed very well for me and I found myself getting easily sucked into the story. I became attached to all of Ina and Evelyn and Anastasia almost like they were my own sisters. One of the best books that’s come out in the past few years.

Has anyone else read this or anything else by Khemiri? Want to get into more of his work.

I’ll say up front, I’m relatively neutral on both Anthony Fantano and Olivia. I’ve come around to liking Olivia more recently with YSPSFAGSIL but I wasn’t as huge on her previous two albums; Fantano I’ve watched casually on and off since high school (more so off as of late) and I hadn’t actually seen all his more controversial clips which I am not going to defend. Catching up on this discourse and coming at it from as unbiased a perspective as I can get, a lot of the discourse coming from people against Olivia here and elsewhere seems as though the hate is directed almost entirely against her and not nearly as much is directly going to Fantano. I’m not saying Olivia doesn’t deserve any criticism for platforming him and going on his show or that she’s some perfect angel and Fantano is Satan incarnate. I personally just find it suspicious that people direct all their hate towards her and demand she apologize but they don’t make any demands for Fantano to apologize for the comments they call him out for. Of course someone will reference the Gwen Stafani thing but honestly I feel the same way, why demand Olivia apologize and not her? Why does Olivia deserve more hate than the people you call out for being hateful?

I feel very accomplished for the obvious reason that this is a notoriously difficult novel, but I’m impressed I was able to complete it at my regular reading speed. I also surprised myself in that I was able to read it and follow what was going on without a whole lot of difficulty for most of the novel (part one was really tough but once I got to part two it started to really flow for me). Vineland was really difficult for me when I read it last year so I was especially shocked I was able to follow along with GR okay. All that to say it was worth it and it absolutely lives up to the hype. What should I read next from Pynchon? This is my fourth from his after Inherent Vice, Vineland as I said above and Bleeding Edge. Really want to dive into the rest of his work.