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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
I used to go to Shopsin’s when I was a kid with my dad because his art studio was close by and we’d eat bacon egg and cheeses on a roll. I had no idea that there was a whole book about Shopsins but I loved this so much. It memorializes all that New York was and is. Now I’m really craving some pancakes.
CRITICAL WARNING RE: AUDIO at the end. //
These are somewhat aimless, very brief slices-of-New-York-life from the perspective of Kenny Shopsin’s daughter. He was a bit eccentric; so is she. If his ever-changing menu is any indication, he sometimes lacked focus. So does she. The stories don’t always have logical beginnings and endings, but taken as a whole they leave the reader with a solid impression of life on Morton St, life as a Shopsin, and life in ‘80s-era New York.
I generally love listening to authors read their own memoirs. For some reason, the publisher agreed to a completely insane proposition that every time Tamara inserted a tiny drawing in the narrative there’d be a VERY LOUD CLOWN HORN NOISE indicating the listener should refer to a pdf containing all the images. It is the craziest bugshit I’ve encountered in an audiobook. It’s so loud and so distributive and so unnecessary. I also got the ebook from the library (which allows me to “catch up” on these illustrations, since library audiobooks never come with the PDFs) and can safely say that, halfway through the book, only one of these images helped me appreciate the text/scene better and that’s because it was a photo.
BE WAAAAARNED!
These are somewhat aimless, very brief slices-of-New-York-life from the perspective of Kenny Shopsin’s daughter. He was a bit eccentric; so is she. If his ever-changing menu is any indication, he sometimes lacked focus. So does she. The stories don’t always have logical beginnings and endings, but taken as a whole they leave the reader with a solid impression of life on Morton St, life as a Shopsin, and life in ‘80s-era New York.
I generally love listening to authors read their own memoirs. For some reason, the publisher agreed to a completely insane proposition that every time Tamara inserted a tiny drawing in the narrative there’d be a VERY LOUD CLOWN HORN NOISE indicating the listener should refer to a pdf containing all the images. It is the craziest bugshit I’ve encountered in an audiobook. It’s so loud and so distributive and so unnecessary. I also got the ebook from the library (which allows me to “catch up” on these illustrations, since library audiobooks never come with the PDFs) and can safely say that, halfway through the book, only one of these images helped me appreciate the text/scene better and that’s because it was a photo.
BE WAAAAARNED!
I got intrigued by this memoir by Tamara Shopsin, whose father Kenny Shopsin was the quirky owner of The Store (a grocery store turned eatery) in NYC, after reading a profile of Kenny Shopsin by Calvin Trillin. I can see why some people loved this book. The random anecdotes and snippets Shopsin pulls together in Arbitrary Stupid Goal evoke a New York City that no longer exists. One that was dirtier, grittier and scarier (The Store and its neighbours often got robbed), but also one where there was a real sense of community and connection within each neighbourhood. Where people knew each other and looked out for each other. Unfortunately, Shopsin's style wasn't for me. A little too staccato. Give me the writing in E.B.White's Here is New York any day. The highlight of the book for me was when Shopsin spoke about The Store's operations and how her father developed its prodigious menu.
i’ve sat here wondering what to say about this book for the past five minutes kind of at a loss. funny? sad? profound? unusual? unique? all of the above
special mentions to 1) the title, maybe my favourite title of all time and 2) the cover design, which in paperback is half-matte and half-shiny and BRIGHT and makes it a total joy to both look at and hold
special mentions to 1) the title, maybe my favourite title of all time and 2) the cover design, which in paperback is half-matte and half-shiny and BRIGHT and makes it a total joy to both look at and hold
This book is spectacular and kind of sneaks up on you [insert metaphor about how NYC sneaks up on you].
The blurbs and reviews on this book describe it as something that if you're a new yorker, you'll love, if you live in new york, you'll love, if you love new york, you'll love, and if you don't love new york, then you'll start to love new york and you'll love.
And... I don't disagree.
The author has created a new style -- kind of a hybrid of a memoir, historical non-fiction, poetry, mixed in with a little beat style. I loved the way the book flowed. Spastic yet smooth, unrelenting and meandering. [insert metaphor about new york]
I took me the first third to get into it. And when I finished it I thought "whoa I really liked it" and in my head "did I like it as much as I was supposed to?". Then I found myself renewing my copy to force my partner to read it; taking pictures of passages and photos and emailing them to friend; and non-stop talking about it.
I loved how the author both romantacized aspects of new york, old new york, but was honest while romancing. Yes the village was amazing in the 1970s for the community and the ability to create community. Yes people got robbed every day and shit was dangerous. and on and on.
I loved the moments she created and retold. I loved that she presented people with a lot of context but no judgement (prehaps even when there should be judgement). I loved that she just wrote and didn't force this book into something it was not, so it could be become something completely original [insert metaphor about new york.]
The blurbs and reviews on this book describe it as something that if you're a new yorker, you'll love, if you live in new york, you'll love, if you love new york, you'll love, and if you don't love new york, then you'll start to love new york and you'll love.
And... I don't disagree.
The author has created a new style -- kind of a hybrid of a memoir, historical non-fiction, poetry, mixed in with a little beat style. I loved the way the book flowed. Spastic yet smooth, unrelenting and meandering. [insert metaphor about new york]
I took me the first third to get into it. And when I finished it I thought "whoa I really liked it" and in my head "did I like it as much as I was supposed to?". Then I found myself renewing my copy to force my partner to read it; taking pictures of passages and photos and emailing them to friend; and non-stop talking about it.
I loved how the author both romantacized aspects of new york, old new york, but was honest while romancing. Yes the village was amazing in the 1970s for the community and the ability to create community. Yes people got robbed every day and shit was dangerous. and on and on.
I loved the moments she created and retold. I loved that she presented people with a lot of context but no judgement (prehaps even when there should be judgement). I loved that she just wrote and didn't force this book into something it was not, so it could be become something completely original [insert metaphor about new york.]
This was a funny memoir about growing up in the West Village at her father's shop/restaurant, which is just now closing. He father as a real character, as was everyone who frequented his shop. An interesting and entertaining look back at the West Village in the 60s and 70s.
The parts about Willoughby and her parents' store turned restaurant offered little glimpses into a New York City that once was. The rest of it was... meh.
This debut promises great things to come (case in point, LaserWriter II). For such an overdone genre, Shopsin elevates her familial memoir with anecdotal freshness; she never gets bogged down in details, just focuses on the heart of the story.