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steveatwaywords's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
It's hard to be incisive about popular culture, and it's harder to do and stay relevant years later. Greif is challenged here at both levels (hence his <i>n+1</i> publication which tries to keep up with the trends). As a white man explaining culture in academic prose to contemporary readers living it, he also paints a fairly large target on himself, a position he seems either oblivious to or doesn't care about--either way, a bit problematic.
So I didn't go into this anthology expecting the hip approaches of a Klosterman or the academic rigor of a [insert your favorite sociology PhD here]. Instead, I recommend reading Greif as a man willing to raise questions and challenges about our obsessions and fetishes, many of them truly (and rightly) diagnosing some deeper malaise that is worth our while to reflect upon.
Yes, the Radiohead and Kardashian essays don't play well, and the hip-hop claims have some powerful regions of deafness. But his discussions of our performative natures around exercise, about the clean parallels between our current military and Classical Age hero narratives, or--for me most powerfully--his redefinition of experience and its consequences for a more fulfilling life purpose, all resonate disturbingly for those willing to overlook the earlier issues.
And how may we discover ourselves unless we--all of us, whoever we are--aren't willing to ask the questions? The alternative seems to be an oblivious purchase into a culture sold to us by tradition and trend, by popular acclaim and appropriating profiteers. For those who blithely reject Greif out of hand, excuse me, your, um, obsession is showing . . . .
So I didn't go into this anthology expecting the hip approaches of a Klosterman or the academic rigor of a [insert your favorite sociology PhD here]. Instead, I recommend reading Greif as a man willing to raise questions and challenges about our obsessions and fetishes, many of them truly (and rightly) diagnosing some deeper malaise that is worth our while to reflect upon.
Yes, the Radiohead and Kardashian essays don't play well, and the hip-hop claims have some powerful regions of deafness. But his discussions of our performative natures around exercise, about the clean parallels between our current military and Classical Age hero narratives, or--for me most powerfully--his redefinition of experience and its consequences for a more fulfilling life purpose, all resonate disturbingly for those willing to overlook the earlier issues.
And how may we discover ourselves unless we--all of us, whoever we are--aren't willing to ask the questions? The alternative seems to be an oblivious purchase into a culture sold to us by tradition and trend, by popular acclaim and appropriating profiteers. For those who blithely reject Greif out of hand, excuse me, your, um, obsession is showing . . . .
ajlane's review against another edition
very slow and negative also topics that weren’t too interesting to me
bluecantdrive's review against another edition
Great parts but there were a few bad takes that really left a taste in my mouth that was too gross to be redeemable by the good parts. And tbh even the good parts were just good ~for a white dude~.
I think I just need to stop reading social critique/ commentary essays by cis/het white dudes :/ everything I liked in this book has been said by a queer person and/or person of color more eloquently while being more detailed and funnier at the same time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I think I just need to stop reading social critique/ commentary essays by cis/het white dudes :/ everything I liked in this book has been said by a queer person and/or person of color more eloquently while being more detailed and funnier at the same time ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
ktravss's review against another edition
5.0
Read a long time ago and I think about one essay to this day, but the others didn’t stick, and some I actively disliked or just found ill-founded or irrelevant or uninteresting. But creating one idea that has stuck with me and guided me since makes it worth being amongst the best books I’ve ever read
maisoncetacea's review against another edition
5.0
I kinda thought I could never give a 5-star rating to a white cis man ever again, but it appears I was mistaken. Well-played, Mark Greif.
ericfheiman's review against another edition
5.0
Greif had me at the title of this book, but his expansive intelligence kept me reading to the end. I'm probably not smart enough to glean all the provocative insights and questions Grief presents here, but the ones I did will stay with me.
In an age of sycophantic "thought leaders", Greif is a true thinker and a true intellectual. He continually challenged me to reconsider subjects as wide ranging as food, war, Thoreau, reality television, and even the band Radiohead. How many essayists cover ground this diverse, and so consistently well? Not many, methinks. A true keeper, this book.
In an age of sycophantic "thought leaders", Greif is a true thinker and a true intellectual. He continually challenged me to reconsider subjects as wide ranging as food, war, Thoreau, reality television, and even the band Radiohead. How many essayists cover ground this diverse, and so consistently well? Not many, methinks. A true keeper, this book.
crduff's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.25
itsolivia's review against another edition
1.0
The deal: Have you ever been on a first date with the kind of person who minored in Philosophy, spent a year in Berlin, doesn’t believe in television, and calls his dad “father?” I have. It was the fastest I’ve ever finished a tallboy, and a solid chunk of the time was spent feverishly texting my best friend his best mansplaining arguments every time he got up to refresh his gimlet. That date lasted approximately one hour. According to Dr. Google, this book lasts approximately 4 hours and 32 minutes. That is, if you can bear to finish it.
Is it worth it?: Learn from my mistakes. If someone doesn’t know who Future is, they are not worth your dating time, and just because a book is near-universally applauded by The Paris Review, The New Yorker, NYT, etc. does not mean you will like it.
Pairs well with: A lethal dose of your favorite medicine
F
Is it worth it?: Learn from my mistakes. If someone doesn’t know who Future is, they are not worth your dating time, and just because a book is near-universally applauded by The Paris Review, The New Yorker, NYT, etc. does not mean you will like it.
Pairs well with: A lethal dose of your favorite medicine
F
steponit's review against another edition
5.0
I hope to read this book again. Especially the chapters on the “meaning of life”
katiesendlesstbr's review against another edition
4.0
3.5, rounding up. The first couple of sections were incredible, but then it seemed to lose me after that. Some of the thoughts expressed in here were outdated or felt overdone, though I'm sure it probably would not have in 2016 (how fast things change). Sort of wish I read this closer to when it came out, but still an interesting read, and I would still recommend it, especially the first four essays.