A Man With Two Faces (2022) by Viet Thanh Nguyen

 Book Review

A Man With Two Faces (2023)

by Viet Thanh Nguyen

   I was late to The Sympathizer (2015), which was Nguyen's debut novel AND the 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner.  I didn't actually read it until 2021, just after its sequel, The Committed, was released.  Unsurprisingly I loved The Sympathizer- which is like, the perfect work of literary fiction- combining an interesting point of view (Vietnamese immigrants in Southern California) with an interesting plot (immigrant sent to spy on anti-Vietnamese government activists) and plenty of action, set pieces and dynamic plot mechanics.  You put all those elements together and you have a winner!

  Similarly with the The Committed, which is just as good as The Sympathizer, which is rare/unheard of for a sequel in the world of literary fiction.  But what, one might reasonably ask, does Viet Thanh Nguyen REALLY think about the immigrant experience in America?  A Man With Two Faces is his answer to that question- containing the kinds of truths that only Pulitzer Prize/MacArthur Genius grant winning types get to share over the platform of a major publishing house.   Unfortunately, Nguyen's publicity campaign was derailed by his pre and post 10/7 support of the Palestinian people.  As a supporter of Israel and a Jew, I have to say I didn't find anything offense in his comments, revolving around the general issues with bombing children and abject treatment of the non-Hamas Palestinian people. I mean, don't we all kinda feel that way?  Not, I guess, the people who book literary appearances. 

  A Man With Two Faces is what you call real talk- Nguyen coming to terms with his complicated relationship with his immigrant parents and the white supremacy he believes lurks in the heart of the American Dream.  Nguyen is only a few years older than me and he also grew up in the Bay Area, which is not considered to be a racist part of the US, but, as Nguyen and other writers have shown, can be just as racist as the rest of the US and often in shockingly casual fashion. 

   I found A Man With Two Faces to be a thought-provoking read, certainly not as fun as his two novels, but a great book for those grappling with the role or racism in American society.

Show Review: ZZZahara & Cold Gawd @ ElCid

 

Zzzahara

Show Review

Zzzahara &

Cold Gawd

@ El Cid

Goldenvoice promoting

  I know this sounds totally nuts for a blog that averages under 100 page views a post, but sometimes I feel like promoters book shows specifically for me to go, and if I don't go, and if I don't write up a little review, someone, somewhere will be disappointed.  I'm not saying that's true, in fact, I'm sure it's not, but it just feels that way, which is how I found myself at an early show (Doors 7! Headliner at 8!) at El Cid featuring Zzzahara and Cold Gawd.

  I simply had to see Zzzahara (Pronouns: They/Them)- Mario, my partner in Dream Recordings, has been booking her for a while now down in San Diego and her manager, Gary Walker, works with Amy (my girlfriend) at Monotone.  I genuinely like Gary and his wife Chantal- who is a force in her own right, and Gary has genuine deep roots in the DIY scene in London.  This show was, I found later, sold out- it felt sold out during Zzzahara's set.  So anyway I've been hearing about Zzzahara for months and I was anxious to see the live show.  I was also interested in seeing Cold Gawd (Dais Records), they of the "ABOLISH WHITE SHOEGAZE" t-shirt.

   Both bands were fun to watch- Cold Gawd put out quite a vibe and I was impressed at their professionalism, cranking out a hot set at 730 PM on a Friday.   They are obviously part of the Shoegaze revival that Pitchfork saw fit to comment upon last month.  Cold Gawd also has a dude who does nothing by plays tambourine (the meanest tambourine I ever did hear- clearly audible in an already noisy mix) and scream which made the overall sound more of a shoegazemo (copyright me 2024)- and I was struck, more than once, that this band is one gig away from getting signed to a major label- that's not a good or bad thing, I'm just saying, based on my prior experience, that this is the kind of band that gets signed to a major label when a trend resurfaces (shoegaze) because they have a good vibe, an interesting look and a definite sound.   I'm interested to now go back and listen to their records. 

   Zzzahara is a genuine phenomenon-  an artist Pitchfork has managed to ignore while she is signed to a cool label (Lex Records UK), has close to a million monthly listeners.  She's Eyedress adjacent- another international phenomenon that Pitchfork ignores- with 16 million monthly listeners- I surmise that they may have grown up together. Anyway- she put on a great set- her fans love her- she plays the kind of goth inflected bedroom pop that is super scalable- an artist like her could go from 800k monthly listeners to 8 million overnight if I understand the dynamic properly, because she sings about topics that young people can easily relate to.    And let me tell you, Lex Records knows exactly what they are doing.   As a 45 year old dude I don't exactly relate to the life is tough here in my bedroom lyrics like I used to when I was a kid, but the appeal is easy to understand, and I saw plenty of their fans and I can see them having tons more fans.  They both sound like winners to me, well poised to take off in the revival of the indie scene post-covid.

   I'd never been to El Cid before in 20 years of going to shows in LA and close to a decade of living less than 20 minutes from the venue.  I was intrigued that Goldenvoice was promoting this show, and that was part of the reason I came- to see the venue.  I loved the early start time though I understand it's not typical- El Cid has early and late shows, I was told.  I though the sound was great but the vibe was a little strange- the preshow music was a 2019 dubstep compilation which is fine but not in keeping with the sounds of the artists.  The staff was just the regular El Cid staff- they obviously were flummoxed by these sort of bands and it showed on their sour faces.  Which, you know, is fine- it didn't bother me or anyone else, but I noticed.  I would come back- though dress warm- this is basically an outdoor venue.