More Curious

May 12, 2014
Wilsey (Oh the Glory of It All) makes curiosity the unifying aesthetic and raison d’être of this eclectic collection of essays on places and people, hobbies and grief, and the “comedy and poverty of the United States.” Treading the “fine line between quirky and irreverent,” Wilsey embraces the big topics—death and friendship, the bewilderment and kindness that followed “the massive historical rupture of 9/11”—but his interests tend toward the “obscure... wonderful, and curious,” as shown in an essay that opens with his impending fatherhood, but really studies the population, behaviors, and resiliency of New York City rats. Wilsey’s wry humor often pokes fun at himself, as in his hilarious recounting of his first attempt at skateboarding. The book’s charm derives from the author’s sense of wonder, his sense that the Earth “is still spacious and full of possibilities,” and his ability to tell a perfect anecdote, capturing the absurdities of human behavior from the slightly offbeat to the downright ludicrous. “Escaping from sadness is what made this country,” Wilsey declares in the introduction. It’s as good a reason as any to read this intelligent collection. Agent: David McCormick, McCormick & Williams.