Books I Read July 15th

I got rhymes like dimes, except the rhymes are books that I read this week.

Marshlands and Prometheus Unbound by Andre Gide – Absurdist explorations of the pretensions of artists. I found the first of these charming and the second kind of impenetrable.

Jimmy the King: Murder, Vice, and the Reign of a Dirty Cop by Gus Garcia-Roberts – The decades long rise and rapid fall of Long Island's most corrupt police officer (although perhaps only by a slim margin.) A disturbing exploration of how easily justice is miscarried in our country.

Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett – Gamer turns pacifist in this distinctly odd work by genre's most beloved humorist. Prescient in its depiction of war as entertainment, sort of like if J.G. Ballard wrote a work of YA.

Rene Leys by Victor Segalen – A narcissistic writer in pre-revolution Peking is enchanted by the dubious claims of a youthful fixer. A charming and thoughtful rumination on the limitations of genuine cultural exchange, objective truth. I dug it.