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Dear Lord, I've been working on this for WEEKS. Maybe even over a month--I know I had it with me through our whole New England road trip. That's not to say it wasn't an excellent collection--in fact, that was probably the issue. I'm much happier when I can read an easy fun light story here and a serious one there, but this is a collection of the best essays that were published last year, so you can safely assume that at least some of them deal with some heavy shit, and all of them are deep and multi-faceted and full of symbols and other things you have to think about. This has not been a good thinking-type month for me, so this took a while. (Although it's true that I usually find nonfiction anthologies and literary journals very hard to get through, which makes me feel hypocritical--I want them to publish my essays, so I really should read more of theirs, but it just takes so long!)
In any case. There were some really amazing pieces in this collection, and some that didn't really reach me. Here's the breakdown:
- Patricia Brieschke's essay was really intense and serious. What a way to start off!
- Rich Cohen's mustache essay was really fun, and really clever, and had possibly the best last line in the whole book. I should read more of his work.
- Bernard Cooper's essay was right up there with Brieschke's. I wanted to cry.
- I loved Atul Gawande's essay about aging. So informative and such a different perspective!
- I was excited to read Albert Goldbarth's essay, particularly because 1) I really loved some poems of his I read recently, and 2) it involved old school science fiction, but overall I really didn't love it. I chose to flip to the Goldbarth essay first out of the entire book, and I almost put the book down and stopped reading after that. (Well, I actually did stop reading for a while, but then picked it back up.) Possibly just too philosophical for me? I don't know, it didn't touch me the way many of the others did.
- Emily Grosholz's necklace essay was really interesting and all the details about beads reminded me of Amy, and I considered photocopying it and sending it to her, but ultimately I thought the essay went in an odd philosophical direction and ended kind of abruptly.
- Anthony Lane's essay about the Leica camera was very informative. I think I'd have gotten more out of it if I'd been a photographer sort of person, though.
- Jonathan Lethem's piece about copyright was fascinating, even more so when I got to the end and realized that it's a collage. Artful.
- Ariel Levy's lesbian wedding sounds like it was a blast. I wish I could see a picture of her dress.
- Jamal Mahjoub's essay really confused me at first--I couldn't get a handle on the setting or the action and had to reread the first two pages over again--but it was worth it. What a strange occurrence!
- Louis Menand's piece on quotations was clever and well done.
- I was fully prepared to hate Ander Monson's piece, simply because of the sideways orientation, but I did not hate it. I didn't like it much either, but it was interesting at least.
- Rick Moody's essay about music and heaven and death really drew me in.
- Hugh Raffles knows about cricket fighting! Score!
- David Sedaris, yeah yeah. I have not yet emerged from my Sedaris ennui. Not a bad essay, but I didn't like it as much as I would have before I read too many of his books too fast.
- Sam Shaw's piece about the transcendent runners was so cool. He had the best single line in the whole book. I was fascinated throughout.
- I read Charles Simic's essay with interest, as I only knew him as a poet before, and also I don't know much about Serbia. Liked the overall piece, but didn't get the last line.
- Lauren Slater's essay was great, although it seemed to wrap up a little too neatly--I wanted to hear more about the problems that this story was just the beginning of. I suppose that means I need to go look her up now. But what a perceptive eye she casts on her childhood! I would love to have such clarity of hindsight.
- Updike's dinosaur piece was fun.
- Joe Wenderoth's essay was so specific and fascinating, although he lost me a few pages before the end.
- I knew Lee Zacharias in Greensboro, so I was looking forward to reading her essay. Excellent work. I've always been impressed with everything of hers I've encountered, although her work seems so serious to me that I think it might be difficult for me to tackle a whole book. Though I suppose I should try.
In any case. There were some really amazing pieces in this collection, and some that didn't really reach me. Here's the breakdown:
- Patricia Brieschke's essay was really intense and serious. What a way to start off!
- Rich Cohen's mustache essay was really fun, and really clever, and had possibly the best last line in the whole book. I should read more of his work.
- Bernard Cooper's essay was right up there with Brieschke's. I wanted to cry.
- I loved Atul Gawande's essay about aging. So informative and such a different perspective!
- I was excited to read Albert Goldbarth's essay, particularly because 1) I really loved some poems of his I read recently, and 2) it involved old school science fiction, but overall I really didn't love it. I chose to flip to the Goldbarth essay first out of the entire book, and I almost put the book down and stopped reading after that. (Well, I actually did stop reading for a while, but then picked it back up.) Possibly just too philosophical for me? I don't know, it didn't touch me the way many of the others did.
- Emily Grosholz's necklace essay was really interesting and all the details about beads reminded me of Amy, and I considered photocopying it and sending it to her, but ultimately I thought the essay went in an odd philosophical direction and ended kind of abruptly.
- Anthony Lane's essay about the Leica camera was very informative. I think I'd have gotten more out of it if I'd been a photographer sort of person, though.
- Jonathan Lethem's piece about copyright was fascinating, even more so when I got to the end and realized that it's a collage. Artful.
- Ariel Levy's lesbian wedding sounds like it was a blast. I wish I could see a picture of her dress.
- Jamal Mahjoub's essay really confused me at first--I couldn't get a handle on the setting or the action and had to reread the first two pages over again--but it was worth it. What a strange occurrence!
- Louis Menand's piece on quotations was clever and well done.
- I was fully prepared to hate Ander Monson's piece, simply because of the sideways orientation, but I did not hate it. I didn't like it much either, but it was interesting at least.
- Rick Moody's essay about music and heaven and death really drew me in.
- Hugh Raffles knows about cricket fighting! Score!
- David Sedaris, yeah yeah. I have not yet emerged from my Sedaris ennui. Not a bad essay, but I didn't like it as much as I would have before I read too many of his books too fast.
- Sam Shaw's piece about the transcendent runners was so cool. He had the best single line in the whole book. I was fascinated throughout.
- I read Charles Simic's essay with interest, as I only knew him as a poet before, and also I don't know much about Serbia. Liked the overall piece, but didn't get the last line.
- Lauren Slater's essay was great, although it seemed to wrap up a little too neatly--I wanted to hear more about the problems that this story was just the beginning of. I suppose that means I need to go look her up now. But what a perceptive eye she casts on her childhood! I would love to have such clarity of hindsight.
- Updike's dinosaur piece was fun.
- Joe Wenderoth's essay was so specific and fascinating, although he lost me a few pages before the end.
- I knew Lee Zacharias in Greensboro, so I was looking forward to reading her essay. Excellent work. I've always been impressed with everything of hers I've encountered, although her work seems so serious to me that I think it might be difficult for me to tackle a whole book. Though I suppose I should try.
