Up until this week I avoided books by Chuck Klosterman on principle. That principle, of course, was fairly stupid: I didn’t like the titles of his books. Also, though, I didn’t like the looks of the people I saw reading them: mostly aggravated hipster scene kids with a half-lit cigarette in one hand and Sex, Drugs and CoCo Puffs in another.
Chuck Klosterman, if you are reading this then please accept this as my apology.
I have laughed out loud over almost every page of the book Eating the Dinosaur. I am a fan of essays (so if you are not, you won’t like this), but Klosterman has taken “essay” to a new level. Each little nugget of an essay in this book is two parts story and about eleven parts cultural commentary, in a voice that is crisp, refreshing, and spot on.
If you don’t believe me, immediately read his essay on ABBA. Never have I thought so much about the impact that ABBA has made on society, but Klosterman points out things that I immediately found myself nodding along with, thinking, “Wow, all of the answers to life are in the phenomenon that was, is, and forevermore shall be ABBA.”
If I had to give this book a fault, it lies in that last sentence: You get so into it you begin to think that Klosterman is the end-all be-all answer guide to society. Which, of course, he makes no claims to be. Quite the opposite: he merely situates himself as a careful observer and in doing so creates a staggeringly broad commentary on America (and Germany, and Sweden, and Obamaland).
So, is this book going to change the world? I don’t know the answer to that. I doubt it. But I learned a few things reading it , and that, to me, is what matters the most. In all reality, (which, surprisingly, is kind of what this book is about) you will find yourself making cultural connections you never thought were possible after reading this book. And that, I think, proves to me that this is a good read.
Nell
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