I’ve been switching back and forth lately between two Japanese-themed shows, and I’m realizing that I probably wouldn’t be polite or honorable enough to make it in either one of their worlds.
First, there’s Shogun, the opulent adaptation of the novel that’s accomplished the rare feat of capturing the public’s imagination and sweeping away television critics at the same time. It’s got about a thousand Emmy nominations, and it’s the channel’s most watched show of all time, which is so wild. It’s really beautiful, and the performances are great. Unfortunately, it’s the kind of show that requires your full attention to know what’s happening - it switches among several languages and there are intricate political machinations. If you turn away for a second, you feel a bit like Trinity the Tuck below.
There are many reasons I wouldn’t make it in feudal Japan beyond the lack of electricity and plumbing. Folks are killing themselves left and right for bringing dishonor to their families. As much of my 20s was dedicated to bring dishonor to my family, I’m certain I’d be a very bad fit for this lifestyle. Still, I recommend watching. Lady Mariko rules.
The other show I’ve been smitten with is The Boyfriend, a Japanese dating show for men that I would describe as having the intent of The Bachelor, the format of The Real World, and the vibes of The Great British Bake Off. Seven adorable Japanese men who love men are gathered in a beach house where they are told they’ll be managing a truck that sells coffee (they name it Brew-tiful U) and they’re encouraged to establish connections with one another, whether they be friendship or something more romantic. Sometimes they say things like, “I would like to go to another room and talk to you,” or , “I am trying to figure out if I love you.”
Everyone is so nice - almost to a fault. They write secret notes, they talk about love at first sight, and they sign up for coffee truck shifts together to flirt so subtly that it might not even register to other cultures that don’t appreciate politeness like the Japanese do. This is not to say there isn’t drama. These boys are so sensitive, and anything can be a taken as a slight. I’m falling for it as a viewer. I would run through a wall to protect the boys now. I would cut you if you upset Gensei.
I’d never make it on this show either, as someone who literally bullied his husband into a first date. But at least so far, unlike these gentlemen, I can say I got the guy. Check it out and tell me if you can figure out why no one picks my man Taehon (below) for dates.
Hey, I’ve been doing this little newsletter for two years! Thanks for following along with this little project of mine. I really appreciate it. :) Onward until it’s not fun for me!
Now for some book recommendations, this episode of the newsletter features books all with rather morally questionable characters - way more Shogun than The Boyfriend.
THE LIBRARY IS OPEN
Little Rot
by Akwaeke Emezi
Some books have a gradual build into a wild climax with some time to process after. Other books are full on from beginning to end like a song with no verse or bridges - just choruses. This book is the latter. Imagine Sia’s “Chandelier” with just that chorus over and over again. This is not a drawback, mind you. Some books should feel like a tidal wave once in a while.
We’re dropped headlong into Lagos, Nigeria where a couple Aima and Kalu have just gotten into a violent fight, and Aima prepares to leave the country to escape the broken relationship. At the last minute, she decides to stay, and that decision changes everything for her, her boyfriend, her boyfriend’s best friend who throws sex parties, many attendees of said sex parties, two of the world’s most in demand sex workers, her best friend who realizes she’s bisexual when she’s on drugs, and her best friend’s godfather who happens to be a powerful, sex-addicted pastor and prominent local psychopath. See? It’s a lot! The book explores the seedy underbelly of Lagos, a conservative megalopolis by day but a place where apparently people clandestinely let loose at night.
I really enjoyed this book, though it’s very different than the other Emezi work I’ve read. They’re prolific, and one of our prominent nonbinary authors. I love when books that don’t take place in the US or England cross my path - and, in fact, I need to challenge myself to collect more country settings every year. I would have never imagined a Nigerian nightlife that felt anything like this had I not picked this one up. That said, there are some very heavy sexual themes in this book, not to mention graphic violence and a couple of instances of grievous harm. I was in the mood for something wild like this, so I couldn’t put it down. But you may want to assess your own mood and empathy before digging in!
Read it if you like: mess, African stories, trans narratives, one of those books where everyone ends up a little bit queer, books that take place over one wild ass night.
Providence
by Craig Willse
The forums and comment sections for the Tournament of Books have coined a term to describe a phenomenon that has been with us since the very first book was published, the WMFUN or the white male fuck up novel. Unsurprisingly, most of those white men doing the fucking up in literature are straighter than an arrow. I’ve always said that we need more novels where gay men are fucking up, and lo and behold, one has arrived this summer. Providence makes no bones about whether its protagonist is going to mess up his life. He tells us so in the first paragraph. And boy does he ever.
In many ways, introverted Mark Lausson has it all: a job at a university that’s almost certainly a stand-in for Oberlin, a doting boyfriend, a best girl friend who looks out for him, and a genuine love for the topic he gets to teach - Sex and Death in Literature. (Yes, foreshadowing stands in the back of his classroom, strumming his fingers and chuckling.) So why is he so unsettled? He has no idea. Sigh.
Everything gets upended when a bright eyed, brilliant student in soccer shorts enters his class and strikes up a friendship with the professor. I probably don’t need to tell you what happens when a restless professor gets fraction more attention than he’s used to getting from a hot student, but let’s just say that inappropriate (but not illegal) behavior ensues, and a chain reaction occurs that Professor Mark won’t be adding to his CV anytime soon.
This book is all dread, all the time. You’re with him as he makes every stupid decision, and if you’re rooting for him, you beg him not to make another bad decision. If you’re not rooting for him (like me), you relish the downward spiral. Either way, it’s refreshing to see a gay guy really messing things up once in a while. I came across this book on LGBTQ Reads, which thoroughly catalogs all the best gay reading material. And its owner even recommended it in one of this newsletter’s comment section. (Thanks Dahlia!) If you’re looking to start a WGMFUN, this is a delicious place to start.
Read it if you like: dark academia, age gap affairs, cover ups, living it up in rural Ohio, remembering how in the halcyon days and nights of your youth how you and one of your friends would always whisper “make good choices” when you hugged each other goodbye for the night.
All the Worst Humans
by Phil Elwood
I think I’ve mentioned in this newsletter before that if I’m going to stay engaged, I need my nonfiction to read like fiction. I need to be swept away with wild details that feel like they should be made up, so when I came across the blurbs for this one - a true story about a PR flack who spent a lifetime spinning facts for the very worst politicians, dictators, and tycoons of the world - it felt like the right kind of story to keep the pages moving. (Because you’re reading about it in this newsletter, you can assume it did just that.)
I don’t want to spoil too many of the gory details, and there are many of them, but Phil Elwood is slick enough to go from college dropout who ends up getting an internship for a congressman as a favor to someone his family know to running PR campaigns for the most powerful people in DC. Along the way, he gets pretty into drugs and alcohol, is diagnosed as bipolar, marries the girl of his dreams who puts up with a LOT, and slowly realizes that he’s addicted to thrill seeking through the horrible work he does and can’t escape it. He finds himself babysitting Gaddafi’s son in Vegas, being the center of an FBI investigation, and maybe accidentally acting as a surrogate for an Israeli spy network. This will probably be a movie someday, so you might as well read this one now.
Read it if you like: exciting nonfiction, juicy memoirs, politics that do not make you feel good, the process of PR, WMFUNF.
LIGHTNING ROUND
Ok, I finally tried a version of romantasy, mostly because it was set in Spain, and I had previously read the author’s dark academia. It was fine, and you may love it!
I can’t stop thinking about the election. It’s ruining my life. Ok, I’m listening!
I’m slowly making my way across this incredible literary road trip across America via LitHub.
Until next time…happy reading!
I started watching The Boyfriend as a result of this newsletter
Oh my goodness, Zach, have you read “The Safekeep”? I think you have to.