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Liked It “Absolutely brilliant essays on life in our crazy world. Includes visits to Dubai and Nepal. See video excerpts ("Ask the Optimist!") at www.saunderssaunderssaunders.com. This book makes you love being a liberal.” see full review » see other reviews » |
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0 of 1 members found this review helpful“Recommended by David Sedaris during a recent reading in Houston... there's a couple interesting/funny essays but overall I didn't enjoy it all that much.”
jsridley wrote this review Monday, January 12 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Read after Gilbert Sorrentino's _Something Said_ and before Curtis White's _The Middle Mind_, Saunders suffers by comparison. Most of the essays are slighter than what I wanted, but a few - on Vonnegut, on the boy in the tree, on dubai, on the border between the u.s. and mexico, and the title essay - do stand out and are worth re-reading. I've not read his fiction, but assume it's more engaging than this. The comparisons in the blurbs are ridiculous, as is often the case.”
Jeff B wrote this review Thursday, June 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No0 of 1 members found this review helpful“I loved this collection of essays. I've found myself reading the closing essay "Manifesto" to many people. They are always moved by it. That's what I love about his writing. He does make you laugh and see the absurdity of the way in which so much life is lived. And he also helps you see the real world beneath the imaginary one.”
Mike Mather wrote this review Monday, February 4 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1 of 1 members found this review helpful“Remember the movie Dogma? Remember the Buddy Christ? It was Catholicism's new cheery mascot that replaced the dreary crucifix. Well, this book is the Buddy Essay. While it goes about its business of informing us, it is mostly going about the business of being our friend and making us laugh (a lot). Finally, they are satisfying and educational and even inspiring, but forehead-smacking revelations are few. The first essay, after which the book is titled, may be the best, as it shows us something in disrepair (the media), then sickens us with the extent of the disrepair, and then makes us want to change the way we see the news and what we demand from it. In the end, though, I mostly made a new buddy.”
Levi T wrote this review Saturday, January 26 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Absolutely brilliant essays on life in our crazy world. Includes visits to Dubai and Nepal. See video excerpts ("Ask the Optimist!") at www.saunderssaunderssaunders.com. This book makes you love being a liberal.”
apokalypsis wrote this review Monday, January 21 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This collection of essays from George Saunders covers a wide range of territory, discussing everything from the author’s experiences visiting the Buddha Boy of Nepal to an analysis of Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Saunders sharp eye and even sharper wit come across in most all of these essays, though I think his talent is best displayed in the longer travel pieces. His humor is balanced with a good deal of heartfelt emotion when he writes about watching Arab children see snow for the first time in the surreal fairy tale of modern Dubai, and his travels along the US-Mexico border in search of greater understanding of the immigration issue reveal a world far too complex to be explained in a sound bite. The title essay, about the decline of intelligent content in mass media, is particularly spot on. Overall, a very worthwhile and entertaining read. ”
storydancer wrote this review Tuesday, January 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
