The Pleasures of Reading, Viewing, and Listening in 2025, pt.2: Tara Campbell

 

 2025 Pleasures 

by Tara Campbell

 

The Book Censor's Library by Bothayna Al-Essa translated by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain

A chilling, timely dystopian tale in the tradition of Orwell with a pinch of surreal Kafkaesque humor. In a future in which books are censored and banned, and imagination is a thought crime, our protagonist is tempted into the world of literature while reading his first novel as a fledgling censor. Unable to resist the temptations of Zorba the Greek, he finds himself following literal white rabbits down into a shadowy labyrinth of rebels who read and preserve the forbidden classics. With elements of favorites like Alice in Wonderland, Pinocchio, and other fairy tales, this novel is a celebration of stories that spark our sense of wonder. But textual shadows of 1984 also lurk in its pages, and the stark reality of authoritarianism is never far behind.

The House of Illusionists: and Other Stories by Vanessa Fogg

 a magical collection, mesmerizing and satisfying. Each story is a portal into a rich, fantastical new world with beautiful imagery and compelling characters. The language is polished and beautiful, inspiring one to pause and savor before diving back in for the next story. As a reader, it's a gorgeous collection to get lost in, and as a writer, it's inspiring to see such skillful writing like this out in the world.

 

Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune 2052-2072 by M.E. O'Brien and Eman Abdelhadi

A thought-provoking book in the format of oral history interviews. In this imagined future, political, economic, and environmental calamities around the world have led to the collapse of government as we know it. A series of revolutions have dethroned capitalism as humanity's organizing principle, creating opportunities to reconceptualize family, community, identity, economy, and relationships with the environment. In this world of the future, communes are the hubs of activity, and the title "Everything for Everyone" is the new mindset. 

 

The authors have taken on the identity of citizen scholars collecting oral interviews on the 20th anniversary of the revolution that established the New York Commune. Contrary to my expectation, these new communities don't eschew technology--indeed, they harness it for their own uses, imagining communes in space and algae-powered AI server farms. While I would have appreciated a little more insight on how these communes have flourished in the face of human impulses toward violence and greed, I was intrigued by the confluence of social cohesion and technological adaptation. This is one I'm going to be thinking about for a long time.

 

 

The Lost Journals of Sacagawea by Debra Magpie Earling

Not easy on the soul, but so worthwhile. Intimate and heartrending, laying bare not only individual loss, but also whole lands and Nations destroyed. And yet: resilience. What else can there be? A gorgeous and important answer to the myopic, jingoistic Great Man model of myth-making that has for too long dominated American history.

 

Your Utopia by Bora Chung

No wonder this book was a finalist for the Philip K Dick award. Simultaneously clever and haunting, these stories will make you see life from multiple perspectives. The title story and "The End of the Voyage" are particularly cinematic--I'd love to see a movie of either one.

 

Right by My Side by David Haynes

I listened to the 2023 re-release of this novel and was transfixed. Though it was originally published in 1993, it still felt fresh and relevant, a testament to Haynes’ ability to focus on the fundamental humanity of the protagonist as he struggles with upheavals in his family life. And just when things start to settle into a groove, things change again, requiring the protagonist to develop new strategies. I found myself changing my mind about how I felt about multiple characters over the course of the book, a masterful move in a slim novel such as this. A worthwhile and life-affirming read.  

 

 

 Tara Campbell is a writer, teacher, Kimbilio Fellow, and fiction co-editor at Barrelhouse Magazine. She teaches flash fiction and speculative fiction, and is the author of a novel, two hybrid collections of poetry and prose, and two short story collections (Midnight at the Organporium and Cabinet of Wrath, from Aqueduct). Her sixth book, City of Dancing Gargoyles, was released by Santa Fe Writers Project (SFWP) in September 2024. Find out more at www.taracampbell.com