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A review by almartin
Another Great Day at Sea: Life Aboard the USS George H. W. Bush by Geoff Dyer
2.0
to borrow from another reviewer, Another Great Day... is exactly as good as a book written by a narrator with
I somehow hitched myself to the Geoff Dyer wagon after Zona, even though in retrospect I never actually read Zona -- it just sort of pervaded 2012, that rare book that somehow floods various channels (friends, book reviews, etc.) and makes itself known. the weird Stalker + live commentary thing he did was definitely the kicker.
Anyways so I think I remain in on Geoff Dyer, man of letters, but Another Great Day didn't do a lot for me. I can echo the other reviews here - Dyer is a remarkably unsympathetic narrator. Cantankerous; selfish; full of complaints about food and noise and sleeping quarters. That's not really the point, though - that was DFW's approach towards cruise ships, and that equation netted a pretty brilliant essay.
The flaw here is Dyer's... glibness? His unwillingness to fully submit to life on an aircraft carrier makes him a poor correspondent; two moments stand out.
Perhaps I am picking at nits, but Another Great Day never really delivers because Dwyer promises an insider story of a city on the water that really never experiences, because he never immerses and never commits.
poor memory, poor note-taking, and indifferent attitude toward details like names and rankscould be. which is to say, entirely in the eye of the beholder, and to this beholder, mostly disappointing.
I somehow hitched myself to the Geoff Dyer wagon after Zona, even though in retrospect I never actually read Zona -- it just sort of pervaded 2012, that rare book that somehow floods various channels (friends, book reviews, etc.) and makes itself known. the weird Stalker + live commentary thing he did was definitely the kicker.
Anyways so I think I remain in on Geoff Dyer, man of letters, but Another Great Day didn't do a lot for me. I can echo the other reviews here - Dyer is a remarkably unsympathetic narrator. Cantankerous; selfish; full of complaints about food and noise and sleeping quarters. That's not really the point, though - that was DFW's approach towards cruise ships, and that equation netted a pretty brilliant essay.
The flaw here is Dyer's... glibness? His unwillingness to fully submit to life on an aircraft carrier makes him a poor correspondent; two moments stand out.
My untrained ear was having trouble keeping up with Dicola's explanation of what the various parts of the cat[apult] were called. These, let's say, were failures at the level of the noun. They were exceeded by systematic failures at the level of the verb: what these nouns--these various parts--did. (35)Superb turn of phrase, to be sure, but do not pass go and do not collect £200; it's a dodge, and I frankly don't buy it. Try harder. Ask questions. Use your words. Give me an analogy, or describe what it evokes.
Dessert arrived--a chocolate thingy--and then everyone signed the menus and posed for pictures. (175)'chocolate thingy' here, especially in the context of the final chapter (homesickness & eagerness to leave) all but screams "I'm throwing in the towel".
Perhaps I am picking at nits, but Another Great Day never really delivers because Dwyer promises an insider story of a city on the water that really never experiences, because he never immerses and never commits.