Three recs, festive edition

A heartfelt satirical film, a political fantasy book series, an in-your-face WW2 TV series

Dec 15, 2023

I have some questions about the calendar. Mainly: How did it become almost-Christmas already? Also: How do I somehow have more to do now than I did when vacation wasn’t imminent? I hope that at least some of you are winding down, even if I am not.

I’ll save an end-of-year wrap-up for the next issue, but for now, I want to send you all off into your festive season with a few fun reads and watches to help you enjoy whatever time off you have. I’m always of the opinion that the holidays are for losing yourself in an absorbing series. Case in point: Recent Christmases have seen me binging Emily in Paris and Bridgerton in one day each. I have no regrets. But if you want something just as absorbing and with maybe a bit more substance, have I got some treats for you.

Also: If you’ve already got something lined up to read/watch/listen to, I want to know!

Rec 1
American Fiction (film)

Here’s the deal: A Black novelist and English professor with the excellent name of Thelonious (“Monk”) Ellison gets fed up with society’s (and the publishing establishment’s in particular) obsession with Black trauma porn stories. As a joke, he writes a book with all the tropes and tells his agent to send it out under a pseudonym, just to prove his point. To his horror, it sells – and for a lot of money, at a time when he really needs money. The white publishing world is obsessed with it, and it becomes an instant bestseller. Needless to say, he has some complicated feelings about this.

Let me put my cards on the table: I loved this film. It’s so sharp, hilarious, and well-observed. It’s got a truly stacked cast: Monk could be no one other than the inimitable Jeffrey Wright, and he’s flanked by the likes of Sterling K. Brown, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, and so many more. It does what you want all great stories to do: It’s simultaneously this one guy’s very specific story and also about all these bigger questions and human themes. On a societal level, it does the best exploration I’ve seen of all those questions around who gets to define whose stories and what stories we expect writers to tell.

But, as smart and delightful as the satire is, it’s not what makes American Fiction great. What makes it great is that it’s also a heartfelt, honest family story. It’s a story about someone learning and growing and maybe even “coming of age” in middle age. Not to be one of those people, but it’s the kind of mature, grounded comedy that it feels like “they just don’t make anymore.” It honestly reminded me of Sideways (not that I’ve seen that since it came out, so please don’t hold me to the comparison).

There’s probably a lesson there about how satire works best when balanced by heart and character and relationships. But for now, I just really hope this film gets the attention it deserves.

Where: In US cinemas now/soon, coming to UK cinemas in Feb 2024

Rec 2
The Daevabad Trilogy (books)

This trilogy of books by S.A. Chakraborty got me through the anxiety of the 2020 election. Seriously. When I was unable to focus on anything and desperately needed to disappear from the real world for a bit, these books welcomed me with open arms and gave me a cocoon in which to hide. As I imagine many of you have a nice, long couple of weeks off ahead – and might also like to escape from real life for a bit – I thought I’d recommend this absorbing series.

The set up for the first book, The City of Brass, is that a young con-woman in 18th-century Cairo makes a mistake and ends up getting pulled into a very dangerous world where pretty much every monster and mythical figure of Middle Eastern mythology is real – and most of them are out to get her. She’s a survivor, a smart-ass, and she’s definitely going to keep getting into trouble.

I don’t read that much fantasy these days, but what hooked me about these is how they’re as much political thriller and historical adventure as fantasy. The characters and relationships are fun, the story fast-paced and compelling, and the world so rich and vivid. The way Chakraborty runs with Middle Eastern mythology is fascinating, especially for anyone like me who has read a lot of mythology from around the world. And the political machinations it builds to in the later books are as nuanced and complex as I’d expect from any contemporary political thriller.

I feel like I’ve just written a rec basically saying: If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, read this, but I’ve never actually read the Game of Thrones books. So, take from that what you will. All I can promise is that Daevabad is a load of fun.

Also, bonus for those of us who’ve already read all three: I’ve just discovered she has a new book out!

Where: Reserve at your library or order from your non-Amazon bookseller of choice (here’s the Bookshop US link for City of Brass, and here’s the Bookshop UK link).*

*(In the name of full transparency, I’ve included affiliate links to Bookshop.org – if you’re going to order from them anyway, please use my link so I can make a little extra cash! If you want to see/order any/all of my book recs, I’ve made lists on Bookshop, too: US version, UK version.)

Rec 3
SAS: Rogue Heroes

Are you a middle aged dad? Don’t worry, this isn’t an age or gender thing – I’m a middle aged dad. So are many of my friends. It all comes down to taste. You, too, can be a middle aged dad if you like World War II movies, men blowing things up for a Cause even as they grapple with their consciences, crime thrillers involving a game of cat-and-mouse between two men on opposite sides of the law, political and spy thrillers full of angsty men, etc. Lots of men, preferably in some form of period costume. I don’t make the rules, that’s just how it works.

Steven Knight (of one of my all-time fave shows, Peaky Blinders) is the king of middle aged dad shows. Well, him and Spielberg, I suppose. And last year, Knight gave us this excellent entry into the genre.

SAS: Rogue Heroes (or, Rogue Heroes, as it’s known in the US) is loosely based on the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre origins of the British special forces, or SAS, during WWII. According to the opening card, all the craziest shit that happens in it is the true stuff, which sounds about right. It’s brash and in your face, almost stranger than fiction. The characters are outlandish and larger than life, which, again, feels right for the last gasps of the British Empire.

Let’s be clear: There’s maybe one woman with any real character in the entire show. All the major characters are white. There are lots of explosions and lots of war.

But it’s also got more heart and depth than it needs to. It grapples with toxic masculinity and the many tolls of war in ways it didn’t have to. It touches on empire, imperialism, and all the shit it could have overlooked. All it had to do was be a fun, excellently good time – which it is – but that it managed to be more is an impressive feat.

But also, it’s a really good time.

Where: BBC iPlayer (UK), Epix/MGM+/Amazon Prime (US)

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