top of page
LISTS
December 31st, 2021
Apocalypse Wrapped: 2021
Ah jeez. Oh boy. Is it a series? Shit.
(You know the drill, favorite discoveries of the year, not always 2021 releases, leggo.)
BOOKS: The Chosen and the Beautiful - Nghi Vo
My favorite book this year comes from my new favorite author, whose worldbuilding feels effortless and whose prose makes you do a little breathy exhale through your nose and shout "FUCK" to an empty room. The Chosen and the Beautiful is Nghi Vo's debut novel, which I might inadequately describe as a retelling of The Great Gatsby with teeth. Told from the perspective of Jordan Baker - Vietnamese immigrant, whip-smart socialite, juggler of self-destructive friends - Vo writes Gatsby into a fiercer kind of love story than the original, I think, one that takes the ideas of home and ghosts and the price of everything and dares them further. (The existence of real devils and demons helps with this. Mostly it's Vo's Jordan.)
As someone who, admittedly, never much liked Gatsby when I read it in high school, I feel like TCATB has translated those same themes into something more resonant, visceral, easily grasped for me. And god, the prose is stunning. Wait, drop-dead gorgeous! That's the description, and I mean it literally. Nghi Vo is a genius, and The Chosen and the Beautiful is one of those so-sharp-you-don't-realize-it's-cut-you types of stories that'll absolutely stick with me past this hellyear.
Honorable Mentions:
How Much of These Hills is Gold - C. Pam Zhang
Riot Baby - Tochi Onyebuchi
Mexican Gothic - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Poison for Breakfast - Lemony Snicket
MUSIC: sketchy. - Tune-Yards
one of favorite band, new album, much favorite band make new album, serotonin go brrr. I didn't listen to a ton of new albums in their entirety this year, but I sure did listen to this one (and a very long Life is Strange-adjacent playlist) on repeat.
Honorable Mentions:
ANRMAL (Live in México) - Juana Molina (2020)
The Dots - ALASKALASKA (2019)
Be the Cowboy - Mitski (2018)
Burrows - Caro (2020)
Falling Bough Wisdom Teeth - Kiev (2013)
TELEVISION: Brand New Cherry Flavor
This show is so weird. This show is so weird. Favorite of the year, and that's saying something with what I managed to watch - it's not a weak bench. But none of the other shows were this wild, or gross, or made me hold my head in my hands and just kind of stare dumbfounded at the screen (if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about, which is fun to say because I could be talking about anything in this show). I think I legally have to say it's not for everyone, but fans of horror cinema and speculative weirdness especially should see how it stacks up. Featuring: an absolutely killer Rosa Salazar, a lovable Manny Jacinto, a truly bonkers Catherine Keener, plenty of horror auteur references.
Also, nothing else I watched had the line, "This bitch just puked a cat!"
Which. I mean. I don't make the rules. Winner winner.
Honorable Mentions:
Squid Game
We Are Lady Parts
Pushing Daisies (2007-2009)
Mythic Quest
City of Ghosts
MOVIES: The Farewell (2019)
I was late to the party, so late to the party, but I am here now and
I very much like the party. A masterclass in nuance and heart.
So many different threads about complex identity and cultural belonging and family, none heavy-handed, everybody acknowledged - it's a web of difficult-to-articulate, cathartic-to-watch that I'm grateful I finally saw. I'd love this movie even if
I weren't a sucker for grandmas, but I am also a sucker for grandmas, so I really love this movie. Awkwafina absolutely deserved the Golden Globe.
Honorable Mentions:
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Shiva Baby
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2005)
Plan B
Black Pond (2011)
Together Together
GAMES: Disco Elysium (2019)
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
-
So, bratan. Here we are. The last category. The end of the year. The end of the line. Be a shame if someone... lost the plot a little. One more cigarette.
-
Some thoughts you can control, and others control you. It'd be nice if we could be in charge of all of them. It'd be nice if a person was one single unit, instead of an internally inconsistent soup. That would probably make things simpler.
​
-
I would die for Kim Kitsuragi.
-
My favorite description of this game is probably "for depressed communists, by depressed communists."
Mother, help me, there's a head attached to my neck and I'm *in* it.
-
The stories I like most tend to be pitch black, plus a joke, plus a tiny little pinprick of light. Premise: it's actually pretty funny if you think about it. Premise: laughing with a mouth of blood. Premise: telling jokes in the dark. Russian Doll is also good for this. Russian Doll is a very good show.
-
Everybody's trying really hard. Like, really hard. This obviously includes me. I don't know how to make it look like it doesn't.
TRUE LOVE IS POSSIBLE
ONLY IN THE NEXT WORLD -- FOR NEW PEOPLE
IT IS TOO LATE FOR US
WREAK HAVOC ON THE MIDDLE CLASS
-
Setup: Oh no, did you hear Culturally Crucial Person died? Punchline: Oof. At least they can't get COVID.
-
I would die for Cuno. (Cuno doesn't care.)
-
More weird things made by weird people. More weird art. More Weird Art. Flowers is also good for this. Flowers is a good show. Please make your art.
-
At one point, you can talk to a young woman who's trying to record sounds out on an ice floe. At one point, the game can tell you:
EMPATHY [Legendary: Success] - The tape recorder is still warm from her touch -- and heavy as a brick, from the batteries inside. The company logo "Omicron" adorns its yellow plastic cover. Inside, the tape is rolling -- the girl looks at the device in your hands.
YOU - "I'm sorry you have to sit here on the ice, feeling miserable. At your age -- or at any age -- in this weather... waiting for it to get dark."
ACELE - She looks you in the eye, her pupils wide, surrounded by a ridiculous amount of make-up.
YOU - "The people who built this world intended it to be better for you, but they failed. It is easier to live in their failure with this by your side." (Tap on the tape recorder.)
ACELE - The wind howls. She remains silent.
EMPATHY - It's real. Tell her.
YOU - "It is not a childish fantasy. It can be a real weapon against what's coming for you now."
ACELE - "What is...?" Her shoulders shake a little.
YOU - "The dark."
ACELE - "I know." Her teeth rattle. She takes the device from you and places it in her lap. "I'll stick to it."
Honorable Mentions:
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (2017)
Life is Strange: True Colors
The Quiet Year (2019)
The Forgotten City
Darkest Dungeon II
Un jour je serai de retour près de toi.
xoxo
Char
bottom of page