Reviews

I liked a lot about this book but the somewhat fragmentary nature was a little coquettish for me. She’d have these incredible anecdotes or observations and then abandon them without exploring further. The conclusions got me the worst. I think we just have a difference of opinion as to how they should work, but I was generally left hungry at the end of an essay.

Really beautiful thoughtful work from a texas poet. I look forward to reading more of her stuff. Thank you for introducing me to the idea of diachronic translation.

dcmr's review against another edition

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2.0

An uunusual blend of confessional / memoir-ish / literary criticism, which moves from personal to academic, from conversational to intellectual.

A good clever, smart start that waned with the pages (as clever tends to do).

shannon_magee's review against another edition

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

kjoiiooi's review against another edition

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informative

4.25

jannyslibrary's review against another edition

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4.0

A wonderful collection of essays. After reading Unreality of Memory (which will definitely be in my top favs of the year) I knew I’d read all of Gabbert’s work. I look forward to reading her poetry too.

Also! All this reading is really starting to come together - now I recognize the occasional book/literary reference and it’s so fun! And in this collection I got whole essay about Anne of Green Gables… I’m giddy.

kjboldon's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is the rare combination of compulsively, devourably readable and erudite. It's like having a bunch of different conversations with one of your smartest, funniest friends on topics both big and small. Commas to vision theory. Linguistics and Anne of Green Gables. These short essays inform, but always entertain.

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