Writing

Serious Face: Essays

Serious Face: Essays

  • Downloads：5884
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-05-27 01:19:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jon Mooallem
  • ISBN：0525509941
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Sandy D。 ，

This is a wide ranging and utterly absorbing collection of essays by a gifted writer and thinker。 My favorites were the examination of monk seals killings in Hawaii， a terrifying description of one woman's escape from the wildfire that killed many of her neighbors in Paradise， California， the story of a feral macaque monkey in central Florida， a bunch of cloud aficionados， and a look at Neandertals and the excavation in a cave in Gibraltar。 Mooallem closes out the book with an insightful view of This is a wide ranging and utterly absorbing collection of essays by a gifted writer and thinker。 My favorites were the examination of monk seals killings in Hawaii， a terrifying description of one woman's escape from the wildfire that killed many of her neighbors in Paradise， California， the story of a feral macaque monkey in central Florida， a bunch of cloud aficionados， and a look at Neandertals and the excavation in a cave in Gibraltar。 Mooallem closes out the book with an insightful view of the pandemic and the current zeitgeist via an account his first post-quarantine baseball game in Spokane。 Although baseball bores me， his thoughts on parenting and his children's future was perfect。 。。。more

Dan ，

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group Random House for an advanced copy of this collection of essays。 The problem with living in the future is that the now and the past don't resonate as well as what we want the future to be。 Living small lives， lives that people wouldn't watch a reality show about， or lives that take to long to describe on TikTok， but maybe would make a good podcast are considered hokey， so last year。 Influencers are the thing， not people w My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group Random House for an advanced copy of this collection of essays。 The problem with living in the future is that the now and the past don't resonate as well as what we want the future to be。 Living small lives， lives that people wouldn't watch a reality show about， or lives that take to long to describe on TikTok， but maybe would make a good podcast are considered hokey， so last year。 Influencers are the thing， not people without followers， or an app。 People especially post- pandemic seem lost， throwing themselves into anything to get them to feel something， though empathy seems to be fading fast。 That is why Jon Mooallem's essay collection is so important and so necessary for our lost time。 Serious Face essays remind us that people， odd， loners， criminal， innocent dreamer and schemers are the real influencers。 These are the people that remind us to live。 Jon Mooallem has a gift for finding people and sharing their tales， whether writing about people who have experienced great tragedies in their life， physical or emotional。 An essay about a man who lost three limbs， how the shadow of prison stays with a person， even well after he is let free。 An essay on Charles Kaufman， screenwriter of classic movies， and a burgeoning almost codependence between subject and writer at the early stages of the pandemic。 There are criminals， and people who see the world through a different prism， but it is the personal essays that really are touching and rewarding。 A reader wants to know more almost from the first paragraph， and Jon Mooallem more than delivers。 The writing is very good， with a nice flow and an ease with the subject that makes the essay seem much more than a profile。 Mooallem has a way of hooking the reader without the reader knowing it till suddenly the end of the essay is near， the eyes are a little misty and the reader feels that more of a journey has taken place， not just a simple reading。 Most of the essays are excellent， none are bad or ever boring。 Recommended for the post-pandemic survivor who feels they have lost a step with humanity。 A simple pass on Twitter， Facebook， or media of any kind makes one wonder why anyone would bother with humans。 However essays like these remind us that people are people， flawed， failing and flailing。 Some deserve praise， a lot deserve our scorn， but to not feel anything is giving up。 A very good collection of essays to remind us of this。 I can't wait to read more。 。。。more