![]() I found myself thinking that I wished the rest of the book had been more like this. It’s a powerful exploration of illness, and what it’s like to express it to others. The characteristic heart and punch-packing observations are back, but with a newfound coat of maturity. There is one essay, toward the end of the book, that I loved. From New York Timesbestselling author Sloane Crosley comes Look Alive Out Therea brand-new collection of essays filled with her trademark hilarity, wit, and charm. ![]() But hers feels strained because she plays the ingenue. A lot of - maybe most? - nonfiction writing is contrived this way. She’s a smart, talented writer who repeatedly puts herself into situations that make for interesting essays. ![]() She leans heavily on hyperbole and the slapstick humor of the situations that she finds herself in. Crosley tells us where it’s supposed to be funny, so it might be a little funny, because we have the right cue. Reading Look Alive Out There often felt a bit like watching a not-very-funny sitcom with a laugh track. ![]() But by and large, the essays aren’t that funny. They don’t overexplain themselves they just are. Two of my favorite essays in the collection - 'Wheels Up' and 'The Grape Man' - are abbreviated, strange, poignant missives that tell us something nebulous about what it is to live in New York. ![]() She’s not wedded to getting to the point, or even having one. ![]()
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