No, I'm Probably Not Going to Read Your Covid Novel

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the author's views on COVID-19 novels written by American writers, their political leanings, and the complexities surrounding the pandemic. The author shares their personal experiences, perspectives, and contradictions related to COVID-19, vaccination, and the government's role.

🙋 Q&A

[01] The author's views on COVID-19 novels

1. What is the author's opinion on the ability of American writers to handle the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic in their novels?

• The author believes that no American writer has the talent or ambition of Dostoevsky to fully capture the complexities of the COVID-19 pandemic in their writing.
• The author finds it impossible to fully believe in any politician or political institution and votes with "existential optimism" in the flawed two-party system.

2. What does the author consider essential for a compelling COVID-19 novel?

• The author believes that a great COVID-19 novel should include the "enormous, baffling, and hilarious contradictions" surrounding the pandemic, and create compelling characters grappling with these contradictions.
• The author wants to see the left and right portrayed as being wise and foolish in equal and idiosyncratic measures, rather than novels that are nakedly pro- or anti-vaccination.

[02] The author's personal experiences and perspectives

1. What are the author's personal experiences and views related to COVID-19?

• The author is a pro-vaccination member of the political left, a Native American whose tribe was nearly wiped out by smallpox, and a survivor of multiple brain surgeries.
• The author has mixed feelings about the government, being reflexively suspicious of the USA government and its past, present, and future misdemeanors and felonies.
• The author's sister was critically ill with COVID-19 and on a ventilator for two weeks in 2020, making a miraculous recovery but still struggling with Long COVID.
• The author was also sick with COVID-19 in 2023, experiencing severe symptoms that were not "just a bad flu."

2. How does the author view the contradictions and complexities surrounding COVID-19 and vaccination?

• The author mocks both people who wear masks outside while walking their dogs and anti-vaxxers, recognizing the complexities and contradictions in these positions.
• The author acknowledges the historical misdeeds of the government, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and the sterilization of Native American women, which contribute to the author's distrust of institutions.
• The author is puzzled by the political left's newfound praise for institutions like the FBI, which the author sees as representing the "Federal Bureau of Investigation" and "Full Blooded Indian" in the Native American world.