The Heartbreak of Forgetting One’s First Language

View in browser | Update your preferences Friday, September 3, 2021 Personal History Forgetting My First Language When I speak Cantonese with my parents now, I rely on translation apps. By Jenny Liao The Front Row “The Year of the Everlasting Storm” Presents Short Masterworks of Pandemic Cinema This wide-ranging new compilation of seven films by prominent directors includes several that are among the best recent movies of any kind. By Richard Brody Letter from Islay Reinventing Scotch Whisky From 2013: The brash owner of a historic distillery works to make an old spirit new again. By Kelefa Sanneh From the Archive Personal History My Grandmother’s Desperate Choice From 2017: My grandmother died of a self-induced abortion. Today, her story has taken on a new sense of urgency. By Kate Daloz Culture and More The Current Cinema The Smell of Villainy Wafts Compellingly Through “Azor” Set during Argentina’s Dirty War, Andreas Fontana’s remarkable début feature avoids overt horrors, preferring to coolly examine the inexhaustible human talent for averting one’s gaze. By Anthony Lane Fiction "The Year of Spaghetti" From 2005: “In 1971, I cooked spaghetti to live, and lived to cook spaghetti.” By Haruki Murakami Annals of Gastronomy One Day—and One Night—in the Kitchen at Les Halles From 2000: For weekenders at the restaurant on Park Avenue South where I work as the chef, a saddle of wild hare stuffed with foie gras is not a good special. By Anthony Bourdain The Current Cinema The Lovable Idealism of “Big Night” From 1996: Although the picture is dedicated to the principle of tiny, delicate, scrupulously crafted aesthetic pleasures, the filmmakers have the good sense to lay on plenty of them. By Terrence Rafferty Humor and Games Name Drop Today’s Quiz The fewer clues you need, the more points you receive. By Liz Maynes-Aminzade Daily Shouts Inside You There Are Two . . . Wolves, or raccoons. Also vaccines. By Sarah Hutto Daily Cartoon Friday, September 3rd By Sophie Lucido Johnson and Sammi Skolmoski You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Was this e-mail forwarded to you? Sign up. Unsubscribe | Manage your e-mail preferences | Send newsletter feedback | View our Privacy Policy Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.