The Checkout Counter #34
August 2025

The American Friend

The Unworthy

Purple Noon

today's the first day that the cicadas have been quiet—after my jam-packed and stiflingly humid summer, i'm ready for fall, too. thanks, as always, for reading 😎

Film

  • Purple Noon (Plein soleil), 1960rewatch. i've always been pretty lukewarm on this ripley adaptation, mostly because the end contradicts the book, but i appreciate it a lot more this time around. everything is drop-dead gorgeous, from the italian scenery to the actors (alain delon is pretty. has anyone ever noticed this?)
    Crime, thriller, drama. Tom Ripley befriends a rich man's layabout son in the hope that he can convince him to return home—and, in doing so, earn a handsome cash reward.
  • The American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund), 1977i think this might be my favorite ripley movie, ever? it's stunning to look at and just dripping with mood—all the sets and characters are permeated with a grimy, wet layer of loneliness.

    i'm so taken by everything in this movie lol, bruno ganz's big sad eyes are enchanting and i was charmed by dennis hopper's loud and surprising take on ripley. this story only works when the picture framer, jonathan, is just as interesting as ripley, and it's done to perfection here.
    Crime, thriller, drama. An ordinary picture framer stumbles into the midst of an international gang war as he befriends an American who deals in forged art.

Books

  • The Unworthy, Agustina Bazterrica (tr. Sarah Moses)post apocalyptic violent nun cult yuri, yaayyy 🌈🐬

    i'll be honest, i got impatient every time the story took a detour into the protagonist's past since i liked the violent nun cult so much ("we called ourselves the tarantula kids" good grief). by the end, though, i understood why the flashback scenes were there; but i still could've done without the specificities of the apocalypse. the initial mystery of what was really going on outside the cult was so good—i love uncertainty!
    Dystopian, horror. In the House of the Sacred Sisterhood, violence and backstabbing reign. Outside, the earth decays and the heavens rain acid.

Comics

  • FRUIT CRIME: SLICE OF LIFE, Faustsoo fun. this makes me want to make a fruit-themed character lol. incredible character designs and fruit puns throughout.
    Crime. John Apples and Kennedy Splits team up once again to solve a string of grisly murders in the heart of Fruit City.
  • Embroideries, Marjane Satrapi (tr. Anjali Singh)
    Memoir, comedic. Marjane's family gathers for afternoon tea. Gossip ensues.

Articles & essays

Blogs

Around the web

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