(Not that You Asked)

July 16, 2007
This collection of essays on everything from Oprah’s Book Club to the joy of being a new father displays all the qualities that have made Almond’s short stories (The Evil B.B. Chow
) and nonfiction (Candyfreak
) entertaining. The wicked humor of “Dear Oprah” features an in-your-face attack on “the Savior of Publishing” and her book club, followed by equally obsequious apologies, including a “gift of trust” to her of his baby daughter. A section titled “About My Sexual Failure (Not That You Asked)” offers brutally honest dissections of his sexual obsessions as well as those of past girlfriends, including chest waxing, fake breasts and masturbating in the family pool. “Demagogue Days” is a hilarious look at Almond’s experience with Fox News that displays an abiding disgust at current arbiters of cultural and political life in America as well as an enduring empathy for the underdog. But best of all is a beautiful and angry essay on “The Failed Prophecy of Kurt Vonnegut (and How It Saved My Life),” a look at Vonnegut’s career-long concern over “whether mankind would survive its own despicable conduct” that serves as a summation of Almond’s personal and literary ethos.

October 1, 2007
A digressive series of hysterical letters to Oprah Winfrey sets the familiar yet frenzied tone of this essay collection. Through autobiographical anecdotes, "New York Times" best-selling author Almond takes us on a coast-to-coast tour of American pop culture. His talent for writing short stories (e.g., "My Life in Heavy Metal"; "The Evil B.B. Chow") is fueled by an obsessive-compulsive passion for truth (e.g., "Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America"). Whether describing the backlash of a politically motivated open letter of resignation from Boston College (published in the "Boston Globe") or analyzing the life of an Internet blogger in a somewhat Freudian fashion (an essay first published on Salon.com), he exposes the absurd realities of modern society. High levels of uncensored wit and wisdome.g., an in-depth comparison of Republican politics to Dante's "Inferno"will incite riotous laughter in some while tempting to incite real riots among the politically conservative. Almond is leading a life as interesting and entertaining to read about as are the lives of fellow pop-lit contemporaries Dave Eggers and David Sedaris. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 5/1/07.]David L. Reynolds, Cleveland P.L.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2007
Almonds latest irrepressible offering (after Candyfreak, 2004) is a collection of essays ranging from the deeply personal to the perverse. Here readers learn of Almonds aversion to fake breasts, his morbid fear of lobsters, and his envy of his twin brother, who is far more endowed than he. Almond makes no secret of regrettable life experiences, from stealing Sta-Hard Gel from the pharmacy to participating in VH-1s venomous reality-TV show, Totally Obsessed. Among the memorable entries are a series of sardonic swipes at Oprah and her book club, a paean to the prolific and crankily optimistic novelist Kurt Vonnegut, and a love letter to the Oakland As, whose long losing streaks Almond blames solely on the Boston Red Sox. While the laughs here are many, there are also anger-suffused rants; Almonds railings against the current administration and the endless war in Iraq reveal the writer at his passionate best. In the end, Almonds critiques of politics and culture fare far better than his episodes of self-flagellation, which can grow tiresome.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)