!!!

it's obvious that marilla and rachel care deeply for bash's family. they protect them fiercely from racial discrimination, devote themselves to caring for delphine, and are absolutely devastated when mary dies. all this despite the backlash from the rest of avonlea, in the face of blatant disapproval, because they truly believe that race doesn't and shouldn't create any difference in a person's intrinsic worth. yet in the same episodes we see them uphold all kinds of stereotypical prejudices against ka'kwet and her parents — prejudices that they would never have stood for if the targets had been bash, mary, and delphine instead.

it's strange seeing rachel, who so tenderly takes care of delphine, being as curt as she is to ka'kwet. and it's strange seeing marilla, who jumps at any chance to help when mary is dying and bash is falling apart, being unwilling to help ka'kwet's parents when she's so cruelly taken from them.

we know that marilla and rachel are not unkind, unjust people who can't see past differences. perhaps they have their reasons for being wary of ka'kwet's family, whom they are unfamiliar with (although this is because they choose not to get to know them). but we also see how their love for one socially marginalised community can coexist with warped biases against another. the contrast is so real and a great reminder of how nuanced such things are.

That's crazy to accept in today's world- obviously- but it gives you such perspective as in how people must have evolved in their thinking, how they categorised unfamiliarity in the same umbrella as unethical and wrong. And how as the unfamiliarity grows into familiarity, the guilt and kindness trips out. Kinda like Diana having the talk with Josephine.

(trigger warnings under the cut)

A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara

This book, which is about 800 pages long, is one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. It follows four friends after they move to New York City and pursue their goals, but most of the story focuses on one of the men: Jude St. Francis, who has a mysterious past that has wrecked him emotionally and physically. But despite the darkness of the subject matter (and it gets DARK) the acts of love and kindness and friendship from the people in Jude’s life will bring you to tears. It’s a gorgeous study of trauma, human relationships, and the marriage of joy and pain that inevitably comes with living. I read it two months ago and have thought about it every day since. It’s one of those books you want everyone to read and no one to read. (DEFINITELY check out the trigger warnings for this one.)

The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson

This book is a sprawling political fantasy, packed with detail and diversity and some of the best, most complex worldbuilding I’ve ever seen. Baru grows up under the shadow of imperialism and eventually joins a rebellion to break free of the empire that has begun to take over the world. She’s also a lesbian, which is forbidden in the new empire, but against herself is drawn to the enigmatic Duchess Tain Hu. There are devastating twists, loves, and heartbreaks that will break your heart along with Baru’s. To say anything else would be a spoiler, but if you like complex, morally ambiguous fantasy, check this one out.

As Meat Loves Salt, by Maria McCan

This book follows a man named Jacob as he slowly falls in love with a fellow soldier during the seventeenth century English Revolution. After the war, they attempt to establish a utopian farming commune and keep their relationship together. This book is a really interesting foray into 17th century England, but it is ultimately a dark, passionate tale of obsession and vindication that will leave you as sick with the actions of the protagonist as he is with himself.

The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara

This book is written as a memoir of a disgraced scientist, who discovers a hidden tribe in a small Pacific island that he believes holds the key to a longer (and even immortal) life. You almost forget that the events of the book are fiction and not a real memoir–everything described seems meticulously researched and vividly real. As always, Yanagihara’s writing is gorgeous, absorbing, and well-paced. It’s a haunting tale of how science, hubris, and greed can lead to someone’s personal downfall, as well as colonialism and cultural genocide.

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

You might have already heard of this one, but I had to put it on the list anyway! After a traumatic accident kills Theo Decker’s mother, his life is thrown into turbulence and eventual crime, all stemming from a stolen painting. The story is tense, beautifully written, and will make you root for yet another morally gray narrator. For fans of dark thrillers, art history, homoerotic friendship, and/or coming-of-age stories, this one is for you.

Daytripper, by Fàbio Moon and Gabriel Bà

Although Daytripper is a graphic novel, it deserves a spot on this list. It follows Bràs, a Brazilian writer, and his journey through specific turning points in his life, each represented as a “death.” The art is gorgeous and the story flows impeccably, capturing the beautiful mundanities and joys of life. This book will leave you touched, inspired, and deeply affected.

The Vintner’s Luck, by Elizabeth Knox

After a vintner saves his life, an angel named Xas visits him every year for a single night. As the vintner grows, so does their relationship, just like a fine vintage. It’s difficult to say too much about the plot without spoiling the story, but I can say that this book explores the nuances of human relationships and the love we feel for each other, as well as the hate and fear that can pervade those relationships.

Beloved, by Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison is one of the greatest American novelists and Beloved is my favorite of her works. The book follows Sethe, an ex-slave, and her daughter Denver as they reckon with a ghost from Sethe’s past that begins to haunt them more literally than metaphorically. The story is both captivating and difficult to read, but Morrison’s writing is gorgeous and the characters come to life on the page. It superbly explores the depth of trauma and motherhood, as well as depicting the horrors of slavery in a way that doesn’t feel cartoonish or exploitative.

(i’m almost finished with the picture of dorian gray btw) 

are we going to ignore the fact that oscar wilde was lowkey a bad writer? i mean, not bad

but like

i thought he would have profound, fancy words

but he said “he threw himself into a chair” like 3 times

he just

is so normal

i was expecting some like

idk fancy english writer

no

he writes like me

and