I loved Strout’s Olive Kitteridge with an uncommon passion, so I decided to read her more recent bestseller My Name Is Lucy Barton. 

And oh my God. Oh God, oh God, oh God. The novel is not simply bad, it’s horrific. Outside of a couple of Harlequin romances I was once forced to read, this was probably the worst reading experience of my life. I read until the very last page because I kept hoping there would be some sort of a reveal telling us that the writer is consciously parodying bad writing. But no, there was no reassurance of this nature. 

It seems that there is not a pompous banality under the sun that Strout forgot to include in the novel. The characters are shallow, the narrative devices she uses are strained, the plot is beyond trite. But the worst thing, oh, the very very worst, is that somewhere in the middle of the book THERE IS AN EXPLANATION of what the novel is about and how you are supposed to read it. 

The main difference between a writer and a quack is that, in the moment of writing, a writer doesn’t remember the reader. She isn’t tortured by the need to signpost, explain and make sure the readers have not an inch of space to create their own reading of the text. She trusts the text enough to stand on its own, even when she’s not there to guide the readers to “a correct understanding” of it. 

It’s possible that Strout is a one-novel writer who said all she had to say with Olive Kitteridge and is now straining to repeat its success in the absence of having anything new to say. Lucy and Olive revolve around the same theme – an abusive, oblivious mother who devours her children’s lives – but while Olive has something to say to the world, Lucy is devoid of value. It’s a huge bestseller, though, because its banalities are very Facebook-quotable.

If I had to choose whether to be confused for a Trump voter or an ideological* vegetarian, it would be a hard choice but I’d end up choosing a Trump supporter. 

Did you, folks, know that there are people who don’t eat honey because they don’t want to exploit bees? OK, I have no sense of humor and I recognize it’s possible they are taking the piss but they sounded very serious. And I’m very disturbed by things that I can’t possibly understand no matter how hard I try. 

* Meaning not health-related or religious vegetarianism.

Russians are going nuts with joy that Macron, May, Merkel and a bunch of other European leaders are childless. They take it as a guarantee that Europe will be destroyed because childless leaders are not invested in its survival after they expire. 

Folks, if you are following the Tuvel – Hypatia story, it’s actually a lot worse than we thought. People are real shit. I mean, I know academics are beyond mousy but this is just the limit. 

In the US, the only person who maybe might have tried to go somewhat against the globalization and tried shoring up the nation-state was Bernie Sanders. And the collective consciousness didn’t even remotely choose him. Ergo, the collectivity wants globalization and the erosion of the nation-state. 

Groups know more than their individual members consciously verbalize. Meaning that Trump’s voters know he’ll take apart the nation-state faster than an army of Hillaries. Not that Hillary wouldn’t have done it but she has less money, so she’s less desperate to do it as fast.

So Merkel is going to win Germany easily, it seems? 

Pro-globalization forces are winning everywhere. Yes, including the US.

Of course, it’s highly possible that I’m the only idiot here, and everybody has decided that politics only serves entertainment purposes, so there’s no need to do anything but have fun. Maybe I’m out of the loop with my boring exhortations of “Let’s do something” that are as outdated as the nation-state. 

During Trump’s entire campaign there was a constant feeling that he was about to flop completely, that the current scandal was his last one, that he finally screwed up so bad that this had to be it for him. . . And then he was elected. 

And now he’s been President for months but all one hears is that he is about to flop completely, that the current scandal is his last one, that he finally screwed up so bad that this has got to be it for him.

As we all know, the definition of totally wackadoodle is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. People, when will it be time to stop and try something new? This is very clearly not working. Plus, it’s boring like all hell. I just saw a whole series of posts expressing deep outrage over. . . some tweet Trump sent. And these people say Trump’s Twitter should be taken away. What about theirs? He, at least, has Twittered himself into the White House. What have they achieved?

There is no other name for this pathetic “resistance” than smug impotence. 

Spain’s leading newspaper is shitting on Ukraine’s Eurovision because all 3 presenters were white and that’s not diverse enough. Of course, the presenters reflect what the population is like but who cares? 

God, I hate it that even Spain is now infected with this ridiculous, whiny way of thinking that can’t see people as anything but tokens. 

Yes, Spaniards are sore that Portugal won because nothing is more offensive than a neighbor’s triumph. But they use the language of race to express their annoyance, and that’s pathetic. 

This is the Europe that Ukraine is so eager to be recognized as part of. 

I haven’t been able to hear the song yet but if somebody deserves a pick me up, it’s Portugal. Great country, rotten luck.