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cactusfinch 's review for:
I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling With Villains
by Chuck Klosterman
I was really excited to read this book, but I think that was due to having a fundamental misconception on what the book was about. Because it's not really about the popular concept of villainy or the antihero (I think the word antihero was mentioned more on the book jacket than within the pages) from the 1970s to the present. I should say that this book will probably be enjoyable for men born in the 60s or 70s, but for a girl born in the late 90s it was a miss. It's not just the casual references to things I had to look up, but also the dismissive tone Klosterman seemed to take on whenever he wrote about women. He also had a tendency to state his own opinions as facts, with no support or explanation, which was very annoying because it made his following argument meaningless.
The final chapter begins with the statement: "writing about other people is a form of writing about oneself." Which I think is probably true, for most people at least. The problem is that it never seemed like Klosterman was writing about other people, instead it always seemed to be about himself, which is not the book I was looking to read.
All in all, the book was a quick read with many amusing references and quips. I wouldn't recommend it, but I don't regret reading it.
Also, I really wish Klosterman would use footnotes instead of bracketing his asides.
The final chapter begins with the statement: "writing about other people is a form of writing about oneself." Which I think is probably true, for most people at least. The problem is that it never seemed like Klosterman was writing about other people, instead it always seemed to be about himself, which is not the book I was looking to read.
All in all, the book was a quick read with many amusing references and quips. I wouldn't recommend it, but I don't regret reading it.
Also, I really wish Klosterman would use footnotes instead of bracketing his asides.