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A review by zach_collins
Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas by Chuck Klosterman
2.0
Through a series of essays, Klosterman provides his own unique world, a world filled with British rappers, middle school basketball games and reality TV programs. Just like his other essay collections, Klosterman consistently offers an intriguing and unique approach to pop culture, often suggesting the possibility that something significant exists right behind what is often described as "low-culture." However, other than several fascinating celebrity interviews and some hilarious anecdotes, IV falls fails to rise to the occasion.
Chuck Klosterman IV certainly contains the perspectives of several curious people, but the only dangerous idea I could find was that Klosterman might consider himself a talented writer. While some of his interviews are well done, they are also weighed down by Klosterman's incessant need to comment on everything he has written. This unnecessary self-reflection appears in many forms, including introductions, footnotes and outragous hypothetical situations, but it all exists for no other reason than to draw attention to Klosterman himself. These lengthy and rather annoying bouts of self-awareness would be forgiveable if they didn't end up forming about a quarter of the book.
The final straw is the last section of the book, a semi-autobiographical short story of Klosterman's brief stint as a film critic for a newspaper in North Dakota, which might be the second worst piece of fiction I have ever read (the first worst being the novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami).
I suggest reading the first section (possibly skipping the essay about the Carribean cruise) and then closing the book for good.
Chuck Klosterman IV certainly contains the perspectives of several curious people, but the only dangerous idea I could find was that Klosterman might consider himself a talented writer. While some of his interviews are well done, they are also weighed down by Klosterman's incessant need to comment on everything he has written. This unnecessary self-reflection appears in many forms, including introductions, footnotes and outragous hypothetical situations, but it all exists for no other reason than to draw attention to Klosterman himself. These lengthy and rather annoying bouts of self-awareness would be forgiveable if they didn't end up forming about a quarter of the book.
The final straw is the last section of the book, a semi-autobiographical short story of Klosterman's brief stint as a film critic for a newspaper in North Dakota, which might be the second worst piece of fiction I have ever read (the first worst being the novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami).
I suggest reading the first section (possibly skipping the essay about the Carribean cruise) and then closing the book for good.