A foray into essays
So I've already made up my mind that this review might be ... different. I'm not fantastic at critiquing short story collections, and this is a lot like that, but with the added obstacle that there is no clear, prevailing theme to this nonfiction collection. Rather, this is simply a group of essays deemed by its editor, David Brooks, to be of the best quality that 2012 had to offer.
Seeing the word "essay" in the title might throw off or altogether dissuade the average reader. There is something so stodgy and frankly boring about the word; of course, students and recent ex-students have their own reasons to avoid essays. And like I said, to the rest of us, it may seem nonessential compared to everything else out there - popular fiction, classic literature, the guilty pleasure Twilight knockoff. Before I took my first nonfiction writing class, I thought along similar lines. Nonfiction takes the same dedication as fiction, writing-wise, but the writer must draw on different parts of his talent. Nonfiction has to be engaging, exciting, structured, and all that, but above all it has to be honest, or at least truthful. We trust the author's authority that, to the best of his or her knowledge, the words he or she puts to paper represent thoughts and deeds that really happened. Because if they didn't, we'd feel cheated as readers.
The cover to the left belies the wealth of information, emotion, passion, and wisdom that these essays contain. After a few days' worth of reading, you will know more about pharmaceutical companies, modern medicine, David Foster Wallace, the rise of Asians in America, the paintings of Edmund Hopper, menopause, Xerox PARC's role in the computer wars of the 80's, and theoretical physics. The curiosity, pain, frustration, joy, and wonder of the authors will become yours as you read their stories. Not all of these are first-person, intimate accounts of the authors' personal lives; some are journalistic in nature, concentrating on a single subject or a person. A few act as confessionals. And while there is not overarching theme, connections rise up out of nowhere - a lot of these pieces touch on mental health problems, death, and philosophies. Of course, writers like to quote other writers, and for some reason Emerson pops up in a few unexpected places. It doesn't always seem random, but the order of the essays - alphabetical by author - ensures that whatever flow there exists is only there by chance, or perception. The writing styles differ, of course: Sandra Tsing Loh's "The Bitch is Back" is spritely and tongue-in-cheek; Peter Hessler's "Dr. Don" is quiet and restrained; Mark Doty's "Insatiable" has an uneasy energy that holds the reader's attention. It is no fair, and not the point, to compare the individual essays to one another, and much more satisfying and enlightening to think of what they represent as a whole: the most intelligent, the most contemplative, the most human.
For me, this was a wonderful, eye-opening experience. All of these accounts are riveting and satisfying in their own diverse ways. I will even go one step further and say that I actually feel enriched having read this. It is a simple, unique, and engrossing collection, and I recommend it with all my heart. Rating: 5 rough drafts out of 5.
The cover to the left belies the wealth of information, emotion, passion, and wisdom that these essays contain. After a few days' worth of reading, you will know more about pharmaceutical companies, modern medicine, David Foster Wallace, the rise of Asians in America, the paintings of Edmund Hopper, menopause, Xerox PARC's role in the computer wars of the 80's, and theoretical physics. The curiosity, pain, frustration, joy, and wonder of the authors will become yours as you read their stories. Not all of these are first-person, intimate accounts of the authors' personal lives; some are journalistic in nature, concentrating on a single subject or a person. A few act as confessionals. And while there is not overarching theme, connections rise up out of nowhere - a lot of these pieces touch on mental health problems, death, and philosophies. Of course, writers like to quote other writers, and for some reason Emerson pops up in a few unexpected places. It doesn't always seem random, but the order of the essays - alphabetical by author - ensures that whatever flow there exists is only there by chance, or perception. The writing styles differ, of course: Sandra Tsing Loh's "The Bitch is Back" is spritely and tongue-in-cheek; Peter Hessler's "Dr. Don" is quiet and restrained; Mark Doty's "Insatiable" has an uneasy energy that holds the reader's attention. It is no fair, and not the point, to compare the individual essays to one another, and much more satisfying and enlightening to think of what they represent as a whole: the most intelligent, the most contemplative, the most human.
For me, this was a wonderful, eye-opening experience. All of these accounts are riveting and satisfying in their own diverse ways. I will even go one step further and say that I actually feel enriched having read this. It is a simple, unique, and engrossing collection, and I recommend it with all my heart. Rating: 5 rough drafts out of 5.
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