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kk0sanda's review against another edition
Only read the SS “The Big and Sometimes Colored Foam” per rec from Voice First. Great use of parentheses!!
lucasmiller's review against another edition
5.0
These five stars feel very personal. The tendency towards formal experiment and overwrought titles probably turns off a lot more people now then it did when first published. Monson feels like a kindred spirit. He is able to do that amazing thing good personal essays can do, which is to not really be about what they are about. While the level of detail and attention paid to dentistry, car washes, boarding school, failure, and the other sundry topics is impressive the themes are very striking. Obsession and collecting, the body, form, language, the past and memory, exterior and interior.
The Midwestness of this collection really stick out to me. I've lived my entire life in the south, rarely travelled outside of it for longer than a few days. This book made me want to go somewhere cold and stay there for a season. I'm not sure how I'm going to find a reason to be in the UP of Michigan any fall/winter coming up, but it is good to have goals.
The formal experiments in this collection also happen to be thoughtful, interesting, and well written personal essays. I will reread this book. You should pick it up.
The Midwestness of this collection really stick out to me. I've lived my entire life in the south, rarely travelled outside of it for longer than a few days. This book made me want to go somewhere cold and stay there for a season. I'm not sure how I'm going to find a reason to be in the UP of Michigan any fall/winter coming up, but it is good to have goals.
The formal experiments in this collection also happen to be thoughtful, interesting, and well written personal essays. I will reread this book. You should pick it up.
chgoange's review against another edition
5.0
Obsession with form, with order, with technology, new and obsolete. Obsession with control, especially control over technology, form, weather, human emotions and interactions. Connections. Or is it an obsession about how all of the above control slash connect us? Do we strive for order out of chaos or do we want to create chaos out of order? In my humble opinion, this is the overriding theme throughout this wonderful book of essays.
miaomoh's review against another edition
4.0
Monson has a very creative and interesting way of writing using the formatting and layout of the page to express his ideas as much as the words themselves. I enjoyed most of the essays much to my surprise as I usually don't enjoy reading compilations of essays.
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