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69 reviews for:
Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News
Kevin Young
3.34 AVERAGE
69 reviews for:
Bunk: The Rise of Hoaxes, Humbug, Plagiarists, Phonies, Post-Facts, and Fake News
Kevin Young
3.34 AVERAGE
I enjoyed reading this book, particularly the parts about literary hoaxes (and I will never turn down an opportunity to revisit the sad saga of Stephen Glass). It feels too diffuse, though, and I'm not sure it ever really jells.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
There was so much potential in this book but sadly the writing ruined it. The arguments were all over the place and I found it difficult to follow the point at any given time. I'm sure there were some good points made, I just wouldn't be able to tell you what they were.
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Suspect this is a better read than a listen, in terms of reading comprehension. EXCELLENT narrator, but just a meaty book.
I realized (after renewing the book several times) that my best shot at finishing this was as an audiobook. Unfortunately, my library only had it available through Hoopla instead of Overdrive, and I did not really care for the narrator.
Still, I pushed through all 20 hours of this, because...well I wanted to and I'm glad I did. Ultimately though, I really agree with this NPR review: https://www.npr.org/2017/11/18/562557299/bunk-is-encyclopedic-fascinating-and-frustrating - this is fascinating and frustrating. There's a lot here that's really interesting, and then there's the writing style which feels like it gets in the way of that. The book is well researched, but also feels like the writing is over-stylized.
Still, I pushed through all 20 hours of this, because...well I wanted to and I'm glad I did. Ultimately though, I really agree with this NPR review: https://www.npr.org/2017/11/18/562557299/bunk-is-encyclopedic-fascinating-and-frustrating - this is fascinating and frustrating. There's a lot here that's really interesting, and then there's the writing style which feels like it gets in the way of that. The book is well researched, but also feels like the writing is over-stylized.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
I think the title does this book a disservice— it appeals to enthusiasts of wacky historical cons, when in reality this book is a fairly academic dissection of hoaxes, not terribly interested in the entertaining narrative of extraordinary lies as they unfold. It turns out I already knew a lot about hoaxes! This will not come as a surprise to those who know me. This was lucky, because this book is not written in such a way that a neophyte will easily understand the chronology and substance of the lies discussed.
Also, turns out that the history of hoaxes, much like the history of pretty much everything else, is pretty racist!
Also, turns out that the history of hoaxes, much like the history of pretty much everything else, is pretty racist!
“The hoax makes the truth sound untrue, or unsure.” Kevin Young, Bunk
Quite a tome, filled to bursting with interesting, informative ideas, and weird facts, Bunk is one of the most complex, thought provoking, and deeply intricate works of creative nonfiction I’ve read. Acclaimed poet Kevin Young explores the fraught nature of truth and fiction throughout the history of the world, and specifically that society of personal reinvention, the United States. Hoaxes and fakes, plagiarists and forgeries, Young imbues his prose with a poetic eye, expressing these connections and ideas in a way that feels stranger than fiction, yet also revealing of the world we live in.
Exploring, in particular, the idea of the “racial grotesque,” he uncovers the connection between so many of these bits of trickery, from the hoaxes of the nineteenth century, to the literary forgeries of the twentieth, to the “fake news” of the twenty first, is that main human fiction of race, and specifically, its use in creating white supremacy. It is surprising (but perhaps shouldn’t be) how often, and how consistently, the art of the hoax is connected to race, and specifically, white people attempting to inhabit the lives of people of color, either to assuage their own guilt or to make points about their own “superiority. In the end, it is almost overwhelming how much Young discusses throughout these hundreds of pages, but rewarding and offers nearly endless subjects to inspire the readers own research.
Quite a tome, filled to bursting with interesting, informative ideas, and weird facts, Bunk is one of the most complex, thought provoking, and deeply intricate works of creative nonfiction I’ve read. Acclaimed poet Kevin Young explores the fraught nature of truth and fiction throughout the history of the world, and specifically that society of personal reinvention, the United States. Hoaxes and fakes, plagiarists and forgeries, Young imbues his prose with a poetic eye, expressing these connections and ideas in a way that feels stranger than fiction, yet also revealing of the world we live in.
Exploring, in particular, the idea of the “racial grotesque,” he uncovers the connection between so many of these bits of trickery, from the hoaxes of the nineteenth century, to the literary forgeries of the twentieth, to the “fake news” of the twenty first, is that main human fiction of race, and specifically, its use in creating white supremacy. It is surprising (but perhaps shouldn’t be) how often, and how consistently, the art of the hoax is connected to race, and specifically, white people attempting to inhabit the lives of people of color, either to assuage their own guilt or to make points about their own “superiority. In the end, it is almost overwhelming how much Young discusses throughout these hundreds of pages, but rewarding and offers nearly endless subjects to inspire the readers own research.
This book was very difficult to read. I've read Kevin Young's poems and they are incredibly lucid and easy to read, enjoyable even. However, this attempt at prose was just a vomit of information - perhaps due to the nature of his subject, I don't know. I spent too much time trying to piece together what he was saying that I didn't have the time to enjoy it. I rate this book “Bunk”.