I have mixed feelings about the writing of Chuck Klosterman. On one hand I feel like much of it is a little self-indulgent and ridiculous. On the other hand, I think the ridiculous stuff to be the most interesting of it all. Often when reading Klosterman's work I find my self moving pretty rapidly between boredom and total absorption. Just when I am on the verge of giving up on the book entirely because he has been going on for several pages about college football (or time travel, or the earnestness of Rivers Cuomo) without saying anything particularly hilarious or interesting Klosterman will make a point so concise and interesting that I cannot believe I ever thought if giving up on him. For example, one of my favourite parts of the book comes at the end of my least favourite essay*. The essay was about football, but this is the quote:
Football allows the intellectual part of my brain to evolve, but it allows the emotional part to remain unchanged. It has a liberal cerebellum and a reactionary heart. And this is all I want from everything, all the time, always.It's an incredibly astute and relatable sentiment, and it makes me glad I spent a little while reading about something I found slightly dull. Klosterman isn't always able to tie his thoughts together so well, but when he is it is totally worth it.
The book's format is a bit strange; the essays themselves are divided into shorter parts (like chapters, numbered 1, 2, 3, etc.) , and sometimes this parts are divided even further (2, 2A, 2B). It's an interesting choice, and it took some getting used to, but I think it works. They make the essays feel a little more focused and organized, his (often bizarre points) become a little easier to follow. Everything truly tangential is put into footnotes. I think we all know how I feel about footnotes**.
Of all the Chuck Klosterman books I've read I think this one may be my favourite. I also have Fargo Rock City and Downtown Owl on my Cannonball list, after which I think I will have read them all. Did you know that Craig Finn wrote the screenplay for the movie version of Fargo Rock City? I really hope that movie gets made.
Page count: 256
Up next: A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
* In all fairness, the reason main I didn't like the essay is that I didn't understand most of it; there were a lot of technical details. The only reason I didn't skip it entirely is that I felt like to do so would be cheating on Cannonball. Klosterman defends his inclusion of the football essay by estimating that about 60% of his readers are intensely interested is sports, while the other 40% don't care at all. He makes up a lot of statistics like this, which I enjoy.
** Love 'em!
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