Reviews

Figure It Out by Wayne Koestenbaum

coric's review

4.0

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I requested a copy of this book. I like essays, and I was intrigued by the description. I still have no idea what I’ve gotten myself into and may never know. One thing I like about collections of essays is being able to pick it up and put it down over a long period of time as you explore each stand alone piece of work. Each one provides an opportunity for careful examination and a deep dive into a short work because brevity has nothing to do with depth. This will definitely be a book I keep by the couch to pick up during those unexpected pockets of time when I don’t know what else I want to do. Koestenbaum has an intense stream of conscious style of writing in which he “squirrels” from connection to connection as it seemingly popped into his head. With wide-ranging topics including smells, eyeglasses, punctuation and Madonna and Debbie Harry, you just won’t be able to anticipate what you will encounter when you begin a new piece. If there was ever a book to showcase what it means to be invited into someone’s inner monologue, this might be the gold standard. I may even set a goal for myself to actually fulfill his “Eighteen Lunchtime Assignments.”

kleonard's review

4.0

Any book by Koestenbaum is a dip into his kaleidoscopic mind, where we might encounter anything from musings on size queens to anecdotes about encounters on the subway to beards to art to music to celebrities to fashion to imaginary events and dreams. This collection brings together essays, lists, journal entries, and other short writings that provide the reader with an excellent overview of Koestenbaum's mostly omnivorous thoughts (although there is a definite focus on white people, Jewishness, men, and gay idols) about his life and life in general. If you can overlook what is omitted and revel in what he does think about and how he does it, this latest entry into the Koestenbaum library is dazzling and thoughtful and entertaining and frustrating and a good sampler of his work.

carolinefaireymeese's review

challenging reflective slow-paced

3.0

I was not the target audience here--the constant references to artists I was unaware of did get under my skin. Loved the writing prompts--I'll return to those--but overall I think that I picked the wrong collection to introduce myself to this author. Seems he's better known for other works, and this is for those fans who have already established interest.

deedireads's review

4.0

All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/. Thank you to Soft Skull Press and NetGalley for providing me with a review copy of this book! It will be published May 5, 2020.

I have somewhat mixed feelings about this book, although they net positive. There’s no doubt that Wayne Koestenbaum is whip smart, astute, and well written. The book’s not long, but it features quite a few essays, divided into several smaller sections. They have lots of different formats and structures, ranging from critique of culture to journal observations to artistic exercise instruction.

I just don’t necessarily think I was this book’s best reader. I wasn’t very familiar with a lot of the people Koestenbaum referenced or critiqued, so those essays were hard for me. I was also glad to be reading on an ereader with a dictionary functionality, because he uses a lot of intense vocabulary words. And yet other essays drew me in and held me there; I particularly liked the ones where he provided writing exercises, the opening essay about chance encounters with two people in NYC, the one about his piano, and the one about words and grammar.

I think ultimately, this book is worth picking up for the moments that will shine for you — and there will be some. Just don’t be afraid to bounce around from essay to essay if you need to.