Sarah Vowell is a regular contributor to NPR's "This American Life." Her collection of personal essays, in the tradition of David Sedaris and Dave Eggers, has received monumental praise. Her voice is hailed as "moving" and "wickedly funny." But, like so much in this genre, I think it takes just the right sense of humor to really click with a given writer. I just could not make the connection. I did like Vowell's writing - it was not pretentious or overly flowery - but rather straight-forward and casual - in part, I'm sure, a reflection of the fact that many of the pieces were written for the radio. But, I did not find many of her observations particularly clever, and I don't think I ever once smiled or laughed out loud while reading this. Vowell has some touching pieces about her family, and one I particularly enjoyed about the nature of the mix tape. But, mostly I found myself asking, "Who is this person, and why do I care about her daily life and her personal stories?" She did nothing to distinguish herself as someone about whose life I'd want to read. I assume Vowell has a loyal following of fans from NPR - and I'm sure those people would love this book. But for me, it just did not strike the right chord.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Take the Cannoli - Sarah Vowell
Sarah Vowell is a regular contributor to NPR's "This American Life." Her collection of personal essays, in the tradition of David Sedaris and Dave Eggers, has received monumental praise. Her voice is hailed as "moving" and "wickedly funny." But, like so much in this genre, I think it takes just the right sense of humor to really click with a given writer. I just could not make the connection. I did like Vowell's writing - it was not pretentious or overly flowery - but rather straight-forward and casual - in part, I'm sure, a reflection of the fact that many of the pieces were written for the radio. But, I did not find many of her observations particularly clever, and I don't think I ever once smiled or laughed out loud while reading this. Vowell has some touching pieces about her family, and one I particularly enjoyed about the nature of the mix tape. But, mostly I found myself asking, "Who is this person, and why do I care about her daily life and her personal stories?" She did nothing to distinguish herself as someone about whose life I'd want to read. I assume Vowell has a loyal following of fans from NPR - and I'm sure those people would love this book. But for me, it just did not strike the right chord.
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