- Paperback: 368 pages
- Publisher: Mariner Books; None edition (Sep 12 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0618246967
- ISBN-13: 978-0618246960
- Product Dimensions: 21 x 13.8 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 386 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #552,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In his deliciously kooky foreword, Eggers (You Shall Know Our Velocity) describes this excellent literary compilation as a gathering of "good writing from contemporary writers," but it's much more than that. The 25 pieces, previously published in glossies (the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's) and smaller outlets (Tin House, Alaska Quarterly Review, Nerve.com) were selected by San Francisco high schoolers, and all are worthy of the reprint they get here. The eclectic assemblage of fiction, nonfiction, humor and comics alternates between serious articles, such as Mark Bowden's elaborate, exhaustive examination of Saddam Hussein ("Tales of the Tyrant"), and the comic brilliance of illustrator Lynda Barry, the charmingly goofy sentimentality of David Sedaris and the flippancy of the Onion's "I'll Try Anything with a Detached Air of Superiority." Last year's collection was aimed at young adults, and several selections here address themes of peer pressure and children's cruelty: Ryan Boudinot's Halloween-themed "The Littlest Hitler," David Drury's story of suburban misfits in "Things We Knew When the House Caught Fire" and Judy Budnitz's disturbing family tale "Visiting Hours." The street-smart spunk of J.T. Leroy's "Stuff" and K. Kvashay-Boyle's "Saint Chola" combine with Daniel Voll's unflinching view of life in South Central Los Angeles to give the collection a dash of grit. Readers of all ages should be delighted with this literary smorgasbord. Eggers deserves credit for another first-rate collection.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
"An excellent literary compilation . . . Eggers deserves credit for another first-rate collection." (Publishers Weekly )
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Unmitigated Failure,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (Paperback)
They should retitle this volume: "Nonrequired Reading, Where Literature Comes To Die" Why anyone would want to waste their time with pretentious drivel like this is beyond me. This is the most needless collection of mish-mash I have ever seen put together.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Are we "forced" to read it?,
By JR Pinto (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (Paperback)
Another reviewer accuses Eggers of "forcing" his tastes on the reader. I must be one of the lucky few who Dave Eggers did not force to read this book at gunpoint. The title of this book is "Nonrequired Reading" - by definition, you are going to find pieces which are off the beaten path.Personally, I found this book an invaluable tool to judge the state of modern writing. This is the only "Best American" collection I own, and I think it is the most valuable. Whereas this one gets criticized for being "too hip" the others strike me as being too high-brow or revisionist. This collection shows what people ACTUALLY READ. The story behind the book is that Eggers has a team of literary-minded high school students cull the best of everything they've read from the entire year. The works contained in this collection run the gamut from fiction, to journalism, to humor, to essays - it even includes a comic strip. What makes this book so indispensable for any aspiring writer is not only that it gives an idea of the current voice of writing and the new young authors who are writing it, but it also lists the publications where one can find them. Among the new authors that this book has helped me to discover is the very young J.T. Leroy. The author of Blackhawk Down provides an incisive and disturbing biography Saddam Hussein. The always dependable David Sedaris provides a very funny account of his brother Rooster's wedding. I would have felt I got my money's worth from the book if I had just read the forward by Eggers (the part we were supposed to "skip"). Eggers is one of the best, freshest voices in writing today. Even better is the introduction by Zadie Smith where she provides guidelines of "how to read", complete with a lot of useful quotes from literature.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Catering to the Hipster Audience,
This review is from: The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2003 (Paperback)
Eggers and Smith, the two "hippest" writers around, assume that they have the gravitas to force their trendy, ironic tastes on the reading public. If their own books are any indication, this volume will be chalk-full of pompous post-modern dronings about the absurdity of contemporary existence. Eggers forward is atrocius. So you should skip that. Actually, skip the whole book. But if you're one of those young people wearing vintage track jackets, cardigan sweaters, stonewashed jeans, black-rimmed granny classes and multiple facial piercings, and who loves discussing the nuances of Foucalt's philosophy at Starbucks, then look no further. This collection was made for you.
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