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A review by bashfuloctopus
Attention: Dispatches from a Land of Distraction by Joshua Cohen
5.0
Joshua Cohen is a witty, intelligent writer who is able to convey the Life and Times of the intellectual in the modern day. This collection showcases the renaissance man who wrote it by connecting disparate stories and ideas into a cohesive (if sometimes abstract) narrative on Attention, Information Awareness, and how individuals [are able to] communicate with one another.
The ethnography of the Circus and its use as critique of the American political system was entertaining and brilliant. This is one of the highlights. While there were some shorter pieces I did not enjoy — reviews for works that seemed obscure to me — some reviews for obscure works I enjoyed nevertheless for their sharp humour. In recollection, it is the insightful, sharp pieces that stand out and even half of them would make the book worth reading. The many-part essay that gives a whirlwind tour of communication methods and their societal consequences in tandem with a history on the coining of "attentio" and its etymological development through philosophy and psychology to modern day stands as worthy of the ultimate piece in the collection. To boot, it ties in other stand-alone pieces (like the one with the glyph dream).
A bonus of this collection is the number of poems, notes and thoughts that intersperse the essays. The phone as holy grail is a personal favourite that had me laughing at least as loudly as the review/mini-bio on Hrabel.
I'm excited to read more from this author.
The ethnography of the Circus and its use as critique of the American political system was entertaining and brilliant. This is one of the highlights. While there were some shorter pieces I did not enjoy — reviews for works that seemed obscure to me — some reviews for obscure works I enjoyed nevertheless for their sharp humour. In recollection, it is the insightful, sharp pieces that stand out and even half of them would make the book worth reading. The many-part essay that gives a whirlwind tour of communication methods and their societal consequences in tandem with a history on the coining of "attentio" and its etymological development through philosophy and psychology to modern day stands as worthy of the ultimate piece in the collection. To boot, it ties in other stand-alone pieces (like the one with the glyph dream).
A bonus of this collection is the number of poems, notes and thoughts that intersperse the essays. The phone as holy grail is a personal favourite that had me laughing at least as loudly as the review/mini-bio on Hrabel.
I'm excited to read more from this author.