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scripturizzy 's review for:
Something That May Shock and Discredit You
by Daniel M. Lavery
Daniel M Lavery it seems I’ve grown quite fond of you tho there are no sexual urges or desires you come to me as a long lost friend whom I once picked apples with in papa’s orchard...
This book made me feel like I was having a strange and wonderful conversation with a friend with all the pop culture dissections and tongue-in-cheek reflection. The sarcastic personas of Aphrodite, Lord Byron, etc go from scathing to desperate, and I was constantly surprised by the care behind the jokes and impressions. There's a constant sense of searching for descriptors and vocabulary to make sense of situations and experiences that was refreshing; you get the feeling that you Know where Lavery is, the way you might Know yourself but now have trouble articulating exactly how you got there. Lavery does this through memories and the analysis of media and vignettes I can only call literary collages all mixed together in a beautiful little stew. I have rarely laughed so much as a book that then turns around and knocks me to my knees with emotion. I can't stop thinking about this quote, from a section where Lavery takes on persona and it starts so satirical, so onstage performace that when it dissolves into this kind of desperation it overtook me:
"I mean, if I were thirty years younger—if I were twenty five years younger—if I were eighteen years younger—God, if I were just ten years younger—if I were a year and a day younger—if I were a month younger—if you'd asked me just five minutes ago, four and a half even, if I'd picked up on the first ring instead of the third, I'd transition. Hell, I'd transition. Oh my God, I wish I could transition. Ask me again, but sooner. Come back yesterday. Come back a week ago. What good are you to me now, when I'm—this? Where were you when there was still summer in my heart? Come back a month ago, a decade, but come back to before I had to forgive you. Just come back and ask again; I'll wait if it takes forever this time."
This book made me feel like I was having a strange and wonderful conversation with a friend with all the pop culture dissections and tongue-in-cheek reflection. The sarcastic personas of Aphrodite, Lord Byron, etc go from scathing to desperate, and I was constantly surprised by the care behind the jokes and impressions. There's a constant sense of searching for descriptors and vocabulary to make sense of situations and experiences that was refreshing; you get the feeling that you Know where Lavery is, the way you might Know yourself but now have trouble articulating exactly how you got there. Lavery does this through memories and the analysis of media and vignettes I can only call literary collages all mixed together in a beautiful little stew. I have rarely laughed so much as a book that then turns around and knocks me to my knees with emotion. I can't stop thinking about this quote, from a section where Lavery takes on persona and it starts so satirical, so onstage performace that when it dissolves into this kind of desperation it overtook me:
"I mean, if I were thirty years younger—if I were twenty five years younger—if I were eighteen years younger—God, if I were just ten years younger—if I were a year and a day younger—if I were a month younger—if you'd asked me just five minutes ago, four and a half even, if I'd picked up on the first ring instead of the third, I'd transition. Hell, I'd transition. Oh my God, I wish I could transition. Ask me again, but sooner. Come back yesterday. Come back a week ago. What good are you to me now, when I'm—this? Where were you when there was still summer in my heart? Come back a month ago, a decade, but come back to before I had to forgive you. Just come back and ask again; I'll wait if it takes forever this time."