“I love art that has something to say about the world and also who we are in, that’s smart and funny, sharp but also tender. It’s easy to make something that is only vicious, all knives and bloodied smiles. Cynicism is a cinch. It’s a lot harder to be sincere.”
A sneak peak from the newsletter this week:
More recommends: I reviewed Shubnum Khan’s Durban Gothic The Djinn Waits A 100 Years for the NYT. It’s set in a run-down mansion on South Africa’s east coast haunted by a past tragedy unfolding in the twin narratives, split between a bookish teen girl with her own ghosts in 2014 and a gorgeous – and doomed – historical romance in the 1930s. Spoiler: I really liked it.
A snippet from that review:
“Here’s an aside you should know. Shubnum Khan is also the author of a book of essays, How I Accidentally Became a Global Stock Photo, and Other Strange and Wonderful Stories. When she agreed to be photographed for an “art project” without reading the fine print, it launched her as the face of hundreds of ad campaigns, for face creams in Turkey, carpets in New York and McDonald’s in China. A decade ago, Khan’s photograph made her a sensation. I suspect her writing will do the same again. This is the start of a major career.”