6 — Friday, January 25, 2019
Arts
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SUBLETS

The 
title 
of 
Kristen 
Roupenian’s 
first 
short 
story 
collection, 
“You 
Know You Want This,” is as 
absorbing and inviting as it 
is 
provocative 
and 
rancorous. 
It’s 
the 
voice of someone that 
knows the power they 
wield, a person who is 
not afraid to use it to 
manipulate. This bold 
acknowledgement of 
one’s sexual prowess 
is something you’d 
expect to see in a 
raunchy 
message, 
maybe, or on a film 
screen. Anywhere but 
the cover of the fresh 
literary 
sensation’s 
first book.
If 
the 
daring 
extorted by the cover 
is 
an 
indicator 
of 
anything, it’s of the 
fierceness to follow. 
“You Know You Want 
This” is a compilation 
of 
twelve 
short 
stories, 
with 
“Cat 
Person,” Roupenian’s 
viral 
2017 
piece, 
smack in the middle. 
But if readers crack 
the 
Helen 
Zell 
Writers’ 
Program 
graduate’s 
newest 
publication 
expecting 
another stoic, extra-literary 
story of the world like that 
of “Cat Person,” they are 
expecting wrong.
To 
a 
grandiose 
effect, 
Roupenian decides to open 
the work with something 
brash: the sexual psychosis 
and abuse of “Bad Boy.” 
Roupenian refuses to hesitate 
in introducing her breadth 
as a writer, boldly declaring 
herself on the page in a take-
it-or-leave-it cleanse. This is 
commendable. “Bad Boy” — 
if readers survive its horror 
— is a fantastic story. No 
matter how despicable the 
scenario, Roupenian leaves 
questions unanswered and 
tempts the reader onward, a 
choice that few will be able 
to turn down.
Following the initiation 
“Bad 
Boy” 
provides, 
the 
collection wanders off mostly 

into story hybrids of horror 
and literary fiction. Most of 
the stories are successful, 
with 
only 
a 
few 
failing 
to reach splendor. Three 
consecutive 
stories 
near 
the center of the work seem 
to fumble, like “Sardines,” 
a story which lacks the 

inflexible and surefire plots 
of the rest of the collection. 
It reads as misplaced and 
incohesive with the tone of 
the remaining work. While 
the writing of such stories 
maintains 
their 
quality, 
the structure falls flat. The 
endings jump away from the 
central plot they maintained 
for their first half, almost as 
though Roupenian ran out of 
ideas and scribbled in some 
gasp-worthy ending so that 
the middle stories matched 
the rest of the collection.
But 
between 
“Cat 
Person” and the eight other 
sensations in “You Know You 
Want This,” the collection is 
easily forgivable for these 
lapses. “Cat Person” in itself 
is so wonderfully true to 
life, so fearlessly blunt and 
unforgiving, that it nearly 
absolves the collection all 
by itself. Works such as 

“The Good Guy,” “Death 
Wish” and “Biter,” jaggedly 
stand out, too. In the former, 
Roupenian returns to the 
fable of social media dating, 
only this time making it the 
female 
counterpart 
who 
knows so badly what they 
want — to be harmed a great 
deal 
prior 
to 
sex. 
This story highlights 
what Roupenian does 
best: She flashlights 
over 
the 
murkiest 
possibilities 
of 
humanity, 
baring 
the 
vile 
and 
uncomfortable. This 
has more effect than 
mere 
discomfort 
and intrigue. It is 
through such reveals 
that 
Roupenian 
is 
able 
to 
pinpoint 
exactitudes 
of 
the 
world that innocuous 
fiction 
cannot 
achieve. She offers a 
character that elicits 
recoil 
in 
readers, 
only to seduce them 
into wandering back 
into narratives with 
her grimness.
Marked 
by 
the 
accomplishment 
of 
polished writing, this 
intrepidness attains 
exceptionality. 
Impossible 
to 
be 
bored 
with, 
the 
stories pry at the 
very edges of what fiction 
endangers to do. “You Know 
You Want This” navigates 
the desire to hurt and be 
hurt, 
the 
realm 
of 
lust, 
infatuation, harassment and, 
yes, the politics of being a 
mother of a pre-teen. And it 
is remarkable.
Any 
readers 
expecting 
regurgitations 
of 
“Cat 
Person” (or any New Yorker 
story for that matter) are 
sure to be surprised in the 
best of ways by the brilliance 
and brashness Roupenian is 
able to accomplish. “You 
Know You Want This,” steers 
through venereal, disturbing 
and absurdist worlds, daring 
readers to keep their eyes 
open. 
Roupenian 
settles 
into her place as principal 
antagonist by way of her 
narratives, as if challenging 
readers at every turn: If you 
can stomach it, look.

BOOK REVIEW
Roupenian is ravishing

JOHN DECKER
Daily Arts Writer

With Martin Luther King Jr. Day 
and dreams for an equal society in 
mind, the arrival of “If Beale Street 
Could Talk” to the big screen is 
undeniably timely. After awing 
audiences with the dazzling and 
poignant 
“Moonlight,” 
director 
Barry Jenkins proves once more 
that his talents know no bounds. 
Jenkins’ latest piece, “If Beale 
Street Could Talk,” juxtaposes 
flickers of the beauty, innocence 
and warmth of young love with 
the rotten and bitter reality of 
racial injustice in the 1970s. 
With breathtaking visuals and a 
memorable score, Jenkins revives 
James Baldwin’s beloved love 
story, honoring the late novelist 
and shedding light on the societal 
inequality that our nation has yet 
to overcome still today.
Alonzo “Fonny” (Stephan James, 
“Race”) and Tish (KiKi Layne, 
“Veracity”) have always belonged 
to each other. Neighbors in Harlem 
since childhood, the nature of their 
relationship evolved as they grew, 
but the love between them was 
always unquestioned, true and pure. 
Fonny and Tish’s future marriage 
plans are tested when their worlds 
are turned upside-down with news 

of both Fonny’s wrongful conviction 
of rape and Tish’s unplanned 
pregnancy. Led by Tish’s mother 
Sharon (Regina King “Ray”), Tish 
and Fonny’s families crusade to 
prove 
Fonny’s 
innocence 
and 
prepare for Tish’s baby, struggling 
against a system constructed to deny 
them justice.
Hands down, one of the most 
impressive aspects of the film is the 

brilliant cinematography. Jenkins 
stays true to the same style he 
established in “Moonlight,” filling 
the screen with rich colors and 
expertly 
interspersing 
close-up 
shots. The honey-golds, yellows, 
deep reds and warm brown tones 
that dominate the film’s color 
palate, paired with the incredibly 
personalized camera movement 
invite the viewer inside the emotional 

worlds of the characters. In one 
especially impactful sequence, we 
watch a flashback of artistically-
minded Fonny crafting an unshaped 
sculpture out of wood. The camera 
pans around Fonny as he inspects 
his work, the smoke from a cigarette 
between his lips gracefully twirling 
into the air. The smoke moves 
about in the air as Fonny paces the 
floor, creating the stunning image 
of a dance between the smoke 
and Fonny in sync with the 
accompanying melodic score.
Also to Jenkin’s credit is his 
clever interplay of auditory and 
visual components. “If Beale 
Street Could Talk” balances the 
heavy and dark with the light 
and beautiful, simultaneously 
translating Baldwin’s words about 
the wonders of first love and the 
racist outside world’s threat to it 
to screen. The score reflects these 
contrasting themes, somehow 
managing to sound both deeply 
heartbreaking and hopeful. Though 
at times the steady-nature of the 
film can make some moments drag 
a bit long, it is not so much that the 
quality of Jenkin’s creation can be 
waved aside. All blended together, 
the strong use of color, emotional 
tangibility of the actors and well-
crafted score create a powerful 
effect that can only be described as 
symphonic.

FILM REVIEW
‘Beale Street’ a symphony

SAMANTHA NELSON
Daily Arts Writer

ANNAPURNA PICTURES

I 
cannot 
fathom 
the 
number of bruises the 21 
bodies comprising the Los 
Angeles 
Master 
Chorale 
will have as they continue 
to 
trudge 
through 
their 
world tour performance of 
“Lagrime di San Pietro.”
“Lagrime di San Pietro,” 
meaning “Tears of St. Peter,” 
is an Italian Renaissance 
choral piece composed by 
Franco-Flemish 
composer 
Orlando di Lasso in 1594. 
The piece depicts the seven 
stages of grief experienced by 
St. Peter after he renounced 
his affiliation with Jesus 
Christ before his arrest and 
subsequent crucifixion. Upon 
Jesus’s arrest, many of his 
disciples and followers fled 
or were punished alongside 
him. St. Peter is a subject of 
particular focus upon the 
arrest of Jesus because of 
his denial of Christ. St. Peter 
can be seen as a figure of 
betrayal — both betrayal of a 
friend and betrayal of faith — 
and as such, Peter spent the 
rest of his life full of regret 
for his disloyalty. Peter is 
effectively stuck pondering 
on his sin, while the rest of 
the world marches on. As 
described by Doyle Amburst, 
violist 
for 
the 
Spektral 
Quartet, “The tragedy in this 
story is not the accident. It is 
the catastrophe of being left 
behind.”
“Lagrime” is an ancient 
piece, one that has been 
performed countless times 

for 
countless 
audiences 
because 
of 
its 
beautiful 
harmonies 
and 
emotional 
storyline. The Los Angeles 
Master Chorale, guided by 
Conductor 
Grant 
Gershon 
and Director Peter Sellars, 
embraces a novel element to 
“Lagrime”: kinesiology.
The Master Chorale enter 
the 
stage 
lacking 
shoes 
and garbed in loose gray 
clothing, depicting the drab 
mental state of Peter. And 
though this outfit is not 
entirely far off from the 
dress of the era, the clothes, 
more importantly, allow the 
singers to move about the 
stage freely. This introduces 
a new, kinetic art form to the 
traditionally choral piece, 
and the group uses it well.
Throughout 
the 
piece, 
dramatic 
movements 
are 
scored 
by 
strong 
Italian 
lyrics that may correspond 
with or contradict what is 
being sung. As Peter was 
being metaphorically shot 
with 
arrows, 
the 
singers 
toppled to the floor in pain 
while 
maintaining 
proper 
intonation. After a moment 
of silence at the end of a 
piece, 
the 
singers 
slowly 
maneuvered to their feet, 
mimicking 
the 
malaise 
mornings of Peter’s as he was 
reminded of his regret.
Some 
of 
the 
group’s 
movements, especially those 
that are not easy on the body, 
were heavily repeated — I 
cannot count the number 
of times the singers fell to 
their knees, laid on the stage, 
jumped up quickly, clutched 
their 
chest 
or 
clutched 

their 
fellow 
performers. 
Upon reflection, however, 
the repetitive oscillation of 
visible activity and lethargy 
elegantly mirrored the cycle 
of depression felt by Peter. 
This ability to be actively 
moving and not miss a musical 
beat is a feat in and of itself. 
To also incorporate meaning 
into those movements shows 
true mastery of the piece.
In 
addition 
to 
bodily 
representations of the music, 
lighting became a key part 
of the performance. As the 
singers described the cold felt 
by Peter, the lights became 
a diffuse to a dim white. 
Upon the revival of spring, 
the lights became warmer, 
as the snow melted. Not 
only did the lights brighten, 
but the singers moved more 
gracefully 
and 
the 
notes 
being 
sung 
were 
softer 
and warmer. In effect, the 
lighting created even more 
feeling and emotion. Changes 
in lighting can easily become 
distracting 
and 
conflict 
with the piece. However, 
the lighting techniques used 
in “Lagrime” were expertly 
carried out.
The 
performance 
runs 
approximately 80 minutes 
with no intermission. The 
audience must sit through 
the whole grieving process 
of 
St. 
Peter: 
the 
anger, 
the 
depression 
and 
the 
contemplations of suicide. 
There is no break from the 
grief, no opportunity to slip 
away. But to be encapsulated 
by this performance for 80 
minutes was not something 
difficult to do.

COMMUNITY CULTURE REVIEW
LA Chorale was visceral

ZACHARY M.S. WAARALA
Daily Arts Writer

“You Know You Want This”
Kristen Roupenian

Simon & Schuster

Jan. 15, 2019

“If Beale 
Street Could 
Talk”

State Theatre

Annapurna Pictures

By Jeffrey Wechsler
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
01/25/19

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

01/25/19

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Friday, January 25, 2019

ACROSS
1 Court player
7 Accident-prone
14 Fuel calculation
15 Satanic attribute
16 Feature of 
frequently 
sheared sheep?
18 “__ everything?”
19 Orioles’ div.
20 Chill in the air
21 Miss equivalent, 
in some cases
22 Player under 
Auerbach, 
familiarly
23 Like aromatic, 
weather-resistant 
plants?
30 Namely
31 Turn heads 
during the 
audition
32 Whodunit 
revelation
35 Compare to, with 
“against”
39 Fathers
41 Twill fabric
42 Skills acquired 
manufacturing 
linens?
46 Pennywhistle 
sound
47 Take __ empty 
stomach
48 Coffee hour 
vessel
49 Prohibit
52 It might be 
used before 
sandpapering
56 Shepherds’ view 
during 
breakfast?
59 “__ Arms”: 
Coldplay song
60 Brother of Isis
61 Business 
representatives
62 Least courteous

DOWN
1 Kid
2 Repeat
3 Put away
4 Works on a 
route
5 Rhinitis-treating 
MD
6 Target field
7 “__ few bars and 
I’ll play it for you”
8 Pound sounds
9 Bearskin rug, e.g.

10 “Fever” singer 
Peggy
11 Tied
12 Mediterranean 
island
13 Was out all night, 
maybe
15 Works on one’s 
image, in a way
17 “First Lady of 
Song”
21 1999 Best Visual 
Effects Oscar 
winner, with 
“The”
22 December 
display
23 Fraud watchdog 
org.
24 Comedic 
Costello
25 Big-eyed flier
26 Excitedly tries to 
open, as a gift
27 Cabinet agcy. 
founded under 
Bush 43
28 Broadway 
success
29 Pain relief brand
33 North Atl. country
34 “Oedipus __” : 
P.D.Q. Bach 
western-themed 
parody

36 Many bar 
mitzvah guests
37 Chapel Hill sch.
38 “MS. Found in a 
Bottle” author
40 Jug band 
percussionist’s 
tools
42 To fit every 
possible
43 Well-supplied with
44 Oklahoma city
45 Tried to be 
elected

46 Marching band 
section
49 K-12
50 Very short time 
pd.
51 Unsettles
52 Source of rage, 
briefly
53 Farm unit
54 Downhill runners
55 Restrained 
“Hey!”
57 LAX stat
58 SEC school

