#zigzags

[nemfrog]

Zig zags. Excelsior fresco stencils. 1924.

Internet Archive

[archoptical]

Imperial Trooper

[whilereadingandwalking]

In Zigzags by Kamala Puligandla, Aneesha goes back to Chicago for the summer knowing it will be complicated. Her ex Whitney has moved in with her boyfriend, and she's going to be sleeping in their extra room. But ultimately, she just wants to sink into her friend group again—gathering at the Heartland, rolling her eyes at Richard, letting Georgie ground her. And maybe this summer her messy love life won't be...as messy? 

I was really really conflicted about this novel. I thought this was an intriguing book that really gets at that painful moment where a dive bar crew, that wild group of friends, is suddenly growing up and moving away and committing themselves to big jobs or serious issues or families. They are changing, reassessing, and settling, and it's a wistful, nostalgic feeling. You know that even as you'll stay in contact, things are changing in a way that's irrevocable—your small little traditions will fade, your nights will end earlier. 

There were some strange stylistic choices which I found distracting. (Spoilers ahead.) While Whitney’s trans boyfriend was compelling, I felt the development with him was completely out of tune with the rest of the novel. Whitney was allowed to keep all her flaws, and her boyfriend’s “being a dick” was often (not always) him being annoyed at Whitney being irresponsible (ex. driving home drunk in his car and running over a mattress). The rest of the book was largely about the group of friends growing up and it being ok, and I thought them growing to allow this man to be responsible vs. let Whitney be the worst was a weird storyline. 

And the relationship with Zoe (starting from her being another 'straight girl' and ending with her kissing a boy at Pitchfork and not knowing it would bother Aneesha) really teetered on the edge of bisexuality/questioning stereotypes... I was often frustrated with the characters, but I actually liked that. We all have semi-insufferable friends who we love anyway. They're our people even when their faults are filling up towards the brim. (Whitney still pissed me off.) Aneesha is a difficult, sarcastic, lesbian trying to find comfort and instead only finding a shifting group of friends who may escape at any moment. Ultimately, this was an imperfect but still compelling novel about a queer, messy group of friends who are growing up, and a story of their summer. It's a love letter to that weird time in life when you keep painfully wondering if your group of friends is going to 'make it.' Where you're proud of them but also find yourself wishing they would just stay instead, with you, in this moment, in this city.

[karda]

funky old arcade carpet is so Gender and for what

[tanyaluca]

Irresistible Shadows Series...

[kushycat]

Rolled a few doobies for the next sesh 😊

[lucyraverat]

In the Beginning | 160 x 180 (2015)

This one started with the yellow circular forms on the right, which I recognised as snail shells found on a beach in Brittany when I was about 6! I remember being so entranced with them, that they are completely real for me right now 70 + years later !! - Lucy

[welcome2creepshow]

#zigzags #zigzagsband #punk #punkrock #metal #heavymetal #rockmusic #ridingeasyrecords #music #vinylcommunity #vinyl #vinylcollector #vinylcollectors #recordcollector #recordcollectors #punkmetal #vinylrecord #vinylrecords https://www.instagram.com/p/CIkBOXiFsAY/?igshid=17we8i7hyv9d2