jet lag-a-go-go

+ doppelgängers, a novel, and pasta for exhausted people

Jul 02, 2023

Collioure, France

Dear Ones,

First day home from our long time away was fraught with minor disasters. First the proverbial red towel in the white, (err, now pink) laundry load. Then our dog guest experienced gastric distress—all over the carpet. (if you are reading this, Deborah, he’s fine now! No big deal.) He’s one of those dogs who inches along like a spider on tip toes, dropping packages in his wake. Luckily we have this cute and amazing steam cleaner. As I was dumping the dirty water reservoir into the toilet, I got confused (jet lag?) held it the wrong way, dumped the disgusting water all over the floor which required a lot of towels, more laundry, a shower, and general mayhem. Our son decided this was a good time to bring the giant umbrella down from the upstairs deck and he hit the ceiling fan with it, which caused problems and now required the ladder from the garage. Lightbulbs blew out all over the house (at least we had the ladder!). Why do they all go at once? We were like the three stooges, only instead of poking each other in the eye we were laughing.

Remnants from our trip which I want to make part of everyday life:

Linger at the table
Less time in a car
Bonjour people in the world (that is, say hello!)
Speak more French
Small bowls of olives
Walk even more
Noisettes (a tiny glass of coffee and milk)
Apero as a verb
Pink wine
Swim whenever I can

Share read.write.eat.
Press the button above ⬆️⬆️⬆️ and be a friend to this newsletter!

read:

On the flight home I read, AUGUST BLUE, by Deborah Levy, one of my favorite writers. In her work elements recur in new arrangements: swimming, seafood, horses, art/creative expression and silence; damage and recovery; the patriarchy. This novel (about a piano prodigy, Elsa, who freezes onstage) asks how do we conduct ourselves, quite literally. How do we grab the baton of our own lives in a world rife with expectations? The novel begins with the sighting of a doppelgänger whom Elsa ‘follows’ across Europe, though of course the doppelgänger is the fractured self. Elsa must look back to her childhood, abandoned by her mother, adopted by a famous piano teacher, and discover from her buried memories (hello rage) how to reconstruct herself. The novel flickers between darkness and comedy—just enough to keep us buoyant. At one moment, after hunting for sea urchins, Elsa is described as “a killing machine in a bikini.”

I also watched a few episodes of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM on the flight. Maybe it was the untethered, liminal space of the plane, but I noticed similarities between Deborah Levy and Larry David, the two, with their inverted initials, also a sort of doppelgänger. The show also incorporates comedy and darkness—just enough to give the show gravitas with persistent jabs at antisemitism, racism, and misogyny. Themes recur in each episode as well: how to be a friend (in one episode all of Larry’s friends make a pact that if anyone gets cancer, they’ll stop being that person’s friend because they just can’t handle the emotions), wobbly tables, fake fruit; cringy misplaced rage as LD makes his way through a world that to him always seems an affront and to us makes him (cisgendered, male, white, and rich) seem like a giant tone-deaf ass.

Anger is an easy emotion, and Larry, always simmering in WTF-ness, clings to his for our enjoyment. Mayhaps we glimpse our sometimes ridiculous selves in his ire? Levy goes for the complicated emotions, yearning, grief, loneliness and through her characters’ growth gives us a handle to pull ourselves up.

I've made a read.write.eat. Bookshop Store, where you will find many of the books I've recommended in the newsletter. Buying books from my shop is another way you can be a friend to the newsletter.

write:

“If art begins with where we point our attention, a life is made out of what we pay attention to.” Austin Kleon

Leitmotifs—that is recurring themes, images or objects—are satisfying to me as a reader. I love watching how the motif evolves and accrues meaning. In the read section above I mentioned how both DL and LD return to objects and themes in their work. There is something wonderfully enjoyable in following the evolution of the mechanical horses in DL’s novel. And in LD, the wobbly table goes from being merely annoying to a major plot device that enflames Larry’s world.

So, I ask you to begin to pay attention to what you pay attention to. Where does your eye land, and what meaning do you take, or build, from repeated images or objects? Check the prompt below for more.

Still time to join! In case you’re interested, I’m teaching a class over at Grub St. on how to use what we learn from our reading to strengthen our own work.

E Annie Proulx said, "You should write because you love the ship of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write."

For information + sign up, look here.

Here’s a prompt for you:

Scroll through the camera roll on your phone. Of what do you repeatedly take pictures? Make a list. What do the subjects say about the way the character/you move through the world? Food? Flowers? Dogs? Graffiti? A particular color? The slant of light? The sea? Can you give any of these ‘obsessions’ to your characters?

I have a friend that takes a lot of photos of his cocktails. Hmm…

Another idea, scroll through Instagram accounts. What do those curated photos tell you about the way the person interacts with the world? Can you find leitmotifs to use in your work?

Try this: Every day, when you go somewhere, notice what you notice. Make a note (on your phone, in your notebook) of seven things you saw/heard in the world and what you thought about them. Make it a habit. Even if you don’t find things to use in your writing, at the very least the practice will make you more present in your excursions.

Big thanks to everyone who has bought me a coffee. I’m grateful you enjoy my newsletter, and that you took time to drop me a note and offer support. Yay! Cute button below for anyone who'd like to join in

buy Natalie a coffee

eat:

I made this and we promptly went to bed with a big old carb bomb in our stomachs. It was so delicious.

Cauliflower Bucatini w/Almonds and Anchovies (or not!)

• Kosher salt
• 1 lb bucatini (I used half of the package and it was the perfect ratio)
• ½ c extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• ½ c unsalted almonds, finely chopped
• 2 c bread, chopped up (I used leftover focaccia, baguette would be great as well)
• ½ bunch parsley, stems and leaves separated and finely chopped
• 1 med yellow onion, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 6-8 oil-packed anchovy fillets (optional)
• 3 T capers, chopped (optional)
• 6 T tomato paste
• 1 sm head cauliflower chopped fine (riced). Roughly 3 cups
• Parmesan to taste

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook according to package directions until about 1 minute shy of al dente. Save 1½ cups of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.

2. While the water is coming to a boil, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet on low. Add the finely chopped almonds and toast for 2 to 3 minutes, tossing occasionally.

3. Add the bread, ½ teaspoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Stir continually for 5 minutes until the bread is toasted. (Be careful to keep everything moving so the nuts do not burn.) Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped parsley leaves. Transfer the mixture to a plate; wipe the skillet clean.

4. Place the skillet back on the stove and heat the remaining 4 tablespoons oil on medium. Add the onion, garlic and minced parsley stems and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, just until the garlic is soft and onion is translucent. Add the anchovies (if using) or add about 3 T of chopped capers. Press the anchovies into the pan while stirring until they melt.

5. Mix the tomato paste with 3/4 cup of boiling pasta water and add it to the skillet. Add the riced cauliflower and mix to combine, breaking up any large pieces. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the cauliflower is cooked to your preference.

6. Add more reserved pasta water, to keep things moist and then the drained pasta, tossing continuously to coat. Add more pasta water if needed to fully coat the pasta.

7. Empty the skillet into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the pasta and top with a final drizzle of oil and generously grate parm over the top.

All hail the return of Stanley!

If you aren't on my mailing list, hop on over to my website to sign up. And, if you'd like to buy my books, you can do so here and here. If you'd like to support the newsletter, please share with your funny and fun friends with the buttons below.

Please, remember to tell your people you love them, and take good care of your skin.

xN