Book Review: To Rob a Bank is an Honor

Image: The cover of the book is a red tinted photograph of Lucio Urtubia from the neck up, an older light skinned man wearing a black beret and looking to the right side of the cover. Over top are scrawling of words in red handwriting. In the center in off white color is "Lucio Urtubia" and "To rob a bank is an honor." Vertically up the left side in blue letters is, "translated by Paul Sharkey" and the right side: "Foreword by Philip Ruff"

In times like these, it can be easy to feel doomed. I am not one for platitudes that seek to shame us for our struggles. Using people as inspiration porn does little good for anyone. However, I do think there is room to draw inspiration from one another when we are united in struggle. So, when a fascist is re-elected into office, it can be valuable to look to those who fought fascism, often in even worse conditions, who came before us. This makes Lucio Urtubia's memoir/autobiography - To Rob a Bank is an Honor - a well timed publication.

We learn early on that this book comes from stacks of writings that Urtubia handed over for help organizing while claiming, "I'm no writer." He reasserts this again in the text, upset that he did not have a better education in writing. I appreciate how this book put all of his words together and made it a readable book. Many times we get memoirs that are poorly edited or written solely by a ghostwriter. This bridges that gap so that he can tell his story in his own words. I must say, for someone who claims not to be a writer, he is highly quotable. Woven throughout each set, often each paragraph, are declarations for liberation and statements on fighting repression.

There were quite a few things I had to google with this book which I guess would be my main criticism. Being a basic USAmerican, it is unsurprising that I am not well versed in the political movements of other nations. It would have been cool if some footnotes were added to define some of the "ists" and "isms" found throughout, for instance. Especially since search engines give increasingly monetized results. Nonetheless, I was generally able to find out what I needed to know to make the story whole.

There is a lot more to Urtubia's life than robbing banks. In fact, he mentions how much he hated the threatening part of the exercise and only did so to fund a critical revolution. He was a laborer with strong interest in worker cooperation, a partner to the equally brilliant and revolutionary Anne Garnier and father to their daughter, Juliette, a well known friend and community member, and many other things. He also grew up and experienced levels of poverty that many of us here have never endured, even those of us who are poor. He and those around him endured countless barriers, yet found ways to cooperate and support one another. All of that said, the title of this book gives credence to a truly successful form of illegalism. I don't take issue with certain tactics executed for the sake of disruption, but I really enjoy reading about when said tactics result in very advantageous expropriation from capitalist ventures where the much needed benefit outweighs the costs- even when the costs such as regular surveillance, imprisonment, and state-sanctioned murder are huge. The robbery and fraud helped fund the critical movements that fought fascism. In these peoples minds, there was no other option than to fight.

Today, when I find myself feeling as if there is no hope, I use histories like Urtubia's and that of his comrades, not to shame us for our despair or level of (in)action, but to remind us that there are people who have fought similar demons in the past. Some who have lost, some who have won, and most who have continued a struggle that is never ending- and they did it together. I think that this autobiography full of widely applicable liberatory messaging is a good companion in dark times.

This was also posted to my goodreads and storygraph.

Book Review: Absolution

 

Image: the cover of the book is a black background with a grotesque illustration of a  alligator whose body is breaking off into various pieces which are morphing into plants. There is an oil slick rainbow sort of coloring throughout that is also the color of the lettering. Across the top reads "absolution -  a southen reach novel - new york times bestseller" and the bottom "author of Annihilation - jeff vandermeer."

I am not alone in my love of Jeff Vandermeer's works. I was pleasantly surprised to see this 4th volume come out, adding new dimensions to the ever creeping terror and unease that I often feel in strange places that remind me of the series. Absolution functions as a prequel of sorts, taking us back to expeditions of previous generations that lead to the Area X we encounter in the original books. The way this book functions is exciting because it gives some answers, but also creates new questions. It leaves me hoping that the Area X series will end up being one of those science fiction collections like Revelation Space where quality offshoots just keep coming and growing over time. 

I really enjoyed seeing a new side of Vandermeer's writing. I have admittedly not read every book of his, so I do not know if he has done this in others. I felt like he really captured the whole MK Ultra era and used it well in the story. It's something that has been referenced in so many stories, fiction and non, at this point that I initially worried if I might become bored. However, here it felt appropriate and natural. I found myself even seeing the drab tan, brown, and orange of the time in my head. We also get a different level of technological interaction with area X which is interesting.

The characters were well written but not always my favorite taste wise. I cannot quite put my finger on why. They did fit into the stories well though. However, be warned that one section is full of F-bombs and I imagine those listening to an audiobook without headphones may find themselves turning down the volume lest they scandalize their neighborhood.

The atmosphere was there. I felt drawn back to the original stories from a decade ago. The world of manipulation of nature in ways that are supposed to be impossible. It is interesting that in Area X, said manipulation is successful, with horrifying results. Unlike many other "scientific" endeavors of the same history that were unsuccessful, also with horrifying results. There is something uniquely attractive about scifi and horror that manages to bridge that sort of impossibility without feeling like pure fantasy. I don't need everything to be hard scifi or whatever, but I do appreciate something that feels very real. Vandermeer's world continues to feel real. 

This book left me yearning to return to the others. There are so many books in the world that I want to read and never enough time. I think I will have to fit in a reread of the trilogy after this though. Hopefully we will be in for more surprises from Vandermeer. If not with Area X, than with some new found horror that feels too close to home, creeping up beside us, and changing us into something else before we know it.

This was also posted to my goodreads and storygraph.