Books: July 2023

We Have Never Been Modern — Bruno Latour

⭐ No clue why the French feel they need to write like this. Couldn’t finish it.

Naomi — Jun’ichirō Tanizaki

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Read most of this on the flight to Japan. Started out strong then got sideways for a while before an unexpected ending. Reads like it’s going to be a straightforward morality tale about a good-natured man from the country corrupted by a modern woman, but it turns into something stranger. Unclear what we are supposed to make of it – is the main character’s situation an allegory for Japan’s own uneasy marriage of old and new, and if so, is that a good or bad thing?