3 Fave Reads of 2023
I’ve read many great books this year, some from current bestseller’s lists, others that have been around for many years.
It was tough to whittle down this list to just three books, but here it is.
Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta
By James Hannaham
Why did I love this book?
This read was as chaotic and exciting as the craziest day of your life (lol).
As we enter the story, our protagonist, Carlotta Mercedes, who has been transitioning from male to female, is being released from a stint in prison, where she spent years incarcerated for a crime she may or may not have committed (you won’t catch me doing any spoiler alerts!). She has been trapped on an all-male cell block and is a victim of sexual assault by both guards and fellow inmates.
Coming home, she must stay on the right (legal) path and find a job while staying out of trouble and under the eye of her dispassionate PO while living in a home that is damn near a 24-hour speakeasy, with a never-ending party in full swing, and alcohol and drugs are as ubiquitous as salsa music and merengue dancing. And this is a quinceanera!!
Carlotta tries to come to terms with the changes to her gentrified NY neighborhood, the ‘friends’ who were involved in the crime when she was still a man, and the PTSD from her prison experience. Will she succeed?
I loved this story because it reminds me of the friends I hung out with and tells a sobering story in a fun way. It focuses on people on the margins of society and shows that all of us have a story worth telling.
Midnight Cowboy
By James Leo Herlihy
Why did I love this book?
You’ve all heard of the movie (and if you haven’t, shame on you). So, as a book person, I’m always interested in how close to the source these adaptations are. Boy, am I glad I read this? It was a true gift, like getting a bonus to the movie.
First, the story of self-styled Texan cowboy Joe Buck, eager to leave his dishwashing job to seek the glamorous life of New York City, was followed very closely to what you will find in the book. Joe has limited talents or skills to warrant the life he envisions for himself in the city, so he decides to use his youth and virility as a commodity.
This makes sense to him since he has learned during his years in high school that his sexual powers draw attention from women of all ages. Although he has been used and cast aside by everyone after they obtain what they want, he thinks things will be different in New York - where he will be the aggressor rather than the victim.
Unfortunately, the city turns out to be the aggressor. Joe finds safety and camaraderie in the unlikely persona of street hustler Ratso Rizzo (the greatest name in cinema).
But all this - the basis of the movie - doesn’t even happen until the book's Second half. There is an entire second story at the beginning of Herlihy’s novel. Even though the story takes place after World War II, the message is timeless. The ‘bonus’ read shows Joe’s encounter with a mysterious and predatory young man who offers to help Joe lose his virginity. Still, this enterprise is a foreshadowing of his later experience away from home.
Bitter Root: Volume 1: Family Business
By David F. Walker, Chuck Brown + 1 more ⌄
Why did I love this book?
This is a graphic novel. I don’t generally read graphic novels (although I’ve been a rabid X-men and New Mutants collector since 1981), and I do want to read Persepolis and Fun Home, but you try getting them from Library waitlists - it’s not easy! But I heard a lot of buzz about this series, which lives up to the hype.
What I enjoyed about this was the excellent inking and art, but most important is the way the author uses elements of horror, superhero, and speculation to find a new way to explain racism and prejudice as a disease that turns its victims into brainless monsters.
The best books, from Twain to Morrison, to Faulkner, to Baldwin, not only entertain us but also educate us and show us pieces of ourselves we may have overlooked or taken for granted.
Bitter Root reminded me of my aunties and uncles who have passed on. I didn’t appreciate their wisdom and the magic of their cooking and home remedies when I was an arrogant, know-it-all kid. I’m glad the characters here are able to benefit from the knowledge of their ancestors.