While the novel Mountainhead was something of an adventure story meets anthropological study (I think the description said "exotic travelogue"), in that more stylistic flourishes and influences were present, New Juche's Stupid Baby is more like a straightforward romance-and-adventure tale, if even possible from this type of author. Showing less of his influences than ever, and instead opting for a fairly unadulterated and simple life-period portrait. Here it works very well, in the sense that any more experimental tendencies would've rendered the narrative oblique and disjointed. I hope to see a whole lot more of this more simplistic, stand-alone approach from New Juche, but nothing can compare to the longer works, especially Mountainhead - that one basically fulfills many overlapping areas which I found lots of my favorite authors to lack, especially those comparable, even Sotos. There is just enough balance here between transgressive idiosyncrasy, arty experimentalism and allusiveness/indebtedness, and basic literary skill to develop something that is at once, and equally, a personal confession, an actual story, and a thematic work of art. While Stupid Baby certainly upholds the combination, it's not a shining beacon of glory as Mountainhead was - but hopefully just as much an indication of what's in store. I really hadn't ever read something that had quite this much of what I want, all at once, before I found New Juche. Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Best for publishing, if this is even a remote indication of what's to come for Amphetamine Sulphate, I'm hooked.
Edit: Gabi Losoncy's Second Person was great, too. Seems to use certain philosophy as a touchstone but isn't really referential enough to go down that road into academic pedantry. Description says "a self-help book from hell," but I didn't see much negativity to it. Some brutal honesty and stumbling neuroses, sure, but that's what any good, truthful writing has to it. Overall it seems to be an attempt at partially explaining her outlook on life/way of doing things in life, and second to that, sort of an attempt to dissect what the mental and social environment for us "millenials" is (I'm assuming Ms. Losoncy and I are relatively close in age) and how we're more or less products of that, even if we're not consistently looking down at smartphones and guzzling IPAs like the great majority of said age bracket. In that, it's sort of a respectable and worthwhile text - it's honest without being ridden with insecurity and confident without being narcissistic. What I've said still doesn't quite nail it, though. I felt I could relate even if I saw little "help" in it beyond often agreeing with Losoncy. Not exactly sure how or who to recommend this.
