In your brief review of Witness you say "My friend Stacey, one of my trusted recommendation sources, described Brinkley’s writing as very masculine, and I think that’s an apt way to put it." This comment has been niggling at me for days. What was so very masculine about it? more than many other books written by men about men? I loved this short story collection. i live in Manhattan and two of my adult children live in Brooklyn. His settings were incredibly drawn ....getting at the nuanced differences between neighborhoods. I loved that he focused on the working poor, people caught in changing neighborhoods( not the projects). What was so male to you...I thought his female characters were real, complex and lovingly drawn.
I’ll also add that I listened to some of this collection on audio and it’s very possible that influenced how I understood it’s tone. Maybe reading it on the page would have less of that effect
I rarely do audiobooks so I didn't even consider that. BTW I did listen to David Copperfield based on your receommendation and thoroughly enjoyed the reader.
I have the stomach flu so I didn’t have a chance to finish or polish these reviews and looking back there are some things I’d clean up in this one. But I found the writing to be very sturdy and brash, lending these stories a degree of directness that for whatever reason (perhaps it was having just finished Woolf) didn’t land with me as well on this reading. I also found his writing about bodies--both men’s and women’s--to lean masculine. These are not bad things! Just the descriptors I landed on. I’m glad you loved the collection and I wonder if greater familiarity with the setting would have helped me access more nuance and subtlety in this collection.
I felt the same way about Chain Gang All Stars! I'm glad I read it but I struggled. I wish I had time to read Birnam Wood this year- moving it to my 2024 tbr:)
In your brief review of Witness you say "My friend Stacey, one of my trusted recommendation sources, described Brinkley’s writing as very masculine, and I think that’s an apt way to put it." This comment has been niggling at me for days. What was so very masculine about it? more than many other books written by men about men? I loved this short story collection. i live in Manhattan and two of my adult children live in Brooklyn. His settings were incredibly drawn ....getting at the nuanced differences between neighborhoods. I loved that he focused on the working poor, people caught in changing neighborhoods( not the projects). What was so male to you...I thought his female characters were real, complex and lovingly drawn.
I’ll also add that I listened to some of this collection on audio and it’s very possible that influenced how I understood it’s tone. Maybe reading it on the page would have less of that effect
I rarely do audiobooks so I didn't even consider that. BTW I did listen to David Copperfield based on your receommendation and thoroughly enjoyed the reader.
I have the stomach flu so I didn’t have a chance to finish or polish these reviews and looking back there are some things I’d clean up in this one. But I found the writing to be very sturdy and brash, lending these stories a degree of directness that for whatever reason (perhaps it was having just finished Woolf) didn’t land with me as well on this reading. I also found his writing about bodies--both men’s and women’s--to lean masculine. These are not bad things! Just the descriptors I landed on. I’m glad you loved the collection and I wonder if greater familiarity with the setting would have helped me access more nuance and subtlety in this collection.
I felt the same way about Chain Gang All Stars! I'm glad I read it but I struggled. I wish I had time to read Birnam Wood this year- moving it to my 2024 tbr:)
Sending healing vibes and wishes for safe travels!
Feel better and enjoy the time off ♥️