In my quest to finish 52 books this year (Can she do it, folks? Can. She. Do. It?), I have finished another, Sarah Vowell's The Partly Cloudy Patriot.
After The Corrections, I needed a break from heavy-hitting fiction, and Vowell's collection of essays was an excellent respite. Vowell is part of the literary clique of David Sedaris, Dave Eggers, David Rakoff, and anyone who's ever been on This American Life. I imagine that Vowell and the others together in high school as the kids who worked on the literary magazine and smoked cloves and watched foreign films. I would probably find them irritating if I didn't secretly wish that, minus the cloves, I had been one of those people. But I digress.
Vowell's book examines politics and some other more mundane topics, and does so well. The essays are concise, and easy to read, some as short as 4 pages and others far longer. The crown in the cap is the essay that analyzes the 2000 Presidential Election and the Jock v. Nerd mood that arose regarding Bush and Gore. When she points out that the notion of having the Jock (Bush) in control of the Presidential Fitness Exam, I laughed out loud.
I do recommend this book, and I would particularly recommend an audio edition. I'm making the bold assumption that there is one, but given Vowell's radio career, I'm sure there is. Vowell's voice is startling, somewhat nasally, but her comic timing is so wry and so impeccable, that I think audio would be the best way to approach The Partly Cloudy Patriot. You can listen to one of the essays from the book at the tail end of this episode of This American Life.
Posted by waking slow at January 21, 2003 11:33 AMI thoroughly enjoyed ...Patriot as well. Have you read Take the Cannoli (her first book)? Similar in tone, but you can tell that she's still finding her voice as a writer in that one, whereas the newer book shows some serious skill and confidence.
Posted by: Max on January 22, 2003 09:08 PMI also read Take the Cannoli and agree that The Partly Cloudy Patriot shows great strides. However, I've also read her first book Radio On which had a marvelous concept with poor, poor execution. The space between that book and this most recent book is extraordinary. She's really come a long way.
Posted by: waking slow on January 23, 2003 08:19 AM