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    The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion
    Unavailable
    The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion
    Unavailable
    The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion

    Published by Dreamscape Media Audio

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    It’s a report tempered by hard times. In “Matricide,” Daum unflinchingly describes a parent’s death and the uncomfortable emotions it provokes; and in “Diary of a Coma” she relates her own journey to the twilight of the mind. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the marriage-industrial complex, of the New Age dating market, and of the peculiar habits of the young and digital. Elsewhere, she writes searchingly about cultural nostalgia, Joni Mitchell, and the alternating heartbreak and liberation of choosing not to have children.

    Editor's Note

    Saying the unsaid...

    Daum’s personal essays plumb the predilections & perversions of the intellectual bourgeoisie, with insights as often uneasy as amusing. She writes with candor & lucidity, and her narration is wonderfully conversational.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamscape Media Audio
    Release dateNov 18, 2014
    ISBN9781633792906

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    Reviews for The Unspeakable

    4/5

    89 ratings9 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I mean not five star like Moby Dick five star but goddamn if there isn't some real pathos and some real howlers. Soft spot for the Joni Mitchell essay slash leitmotif. Also, moms. Also, dogs.
    • 3/5
      A slight book of mostly insightful essays through the singular prism of Daum. I would agree that the first part of the book is stronger with Matricide being my favorite. The dog lover essay seemed unnecessary fluff and I could see how the Honorary Dyke essay would strike many as somewhat offensive, so much so that I think it used up some of the prior goodwill generated by the earlier essays. But when Daum is on, some of her insights can be both profound and illuminating. After slugging my way through Lena Dunham's recent book, Daum was refreshing in her ability to reach the heart of the subject without making me wince. Well worth the time.
    • 5/5
      Love her. Didn't disappoint.
    • 3/5
      The Unspeakable falls into that category of book that I do not trust myself to rate because I find Daum's take on the world so utterly relate-able. It is humbling to find out that (what you considered) your particular brand of antisentimentalism is more likely the result of your culturo-historical context than of your own brilliant particularity. Funny, sharp & occasionally tender; recommended especially to what Daum calls "phantom dykes," the hetero-women who resist pop-culture's idea of the "feminine," and instead venture to forge their own "authentic" identities. I don't exactly know what authenticity means to Daum, but it seems close to Maggie Nelson's "sodomitic mother," i.e. a woman who always exceeds/overflows her societally structured roles.
    • 5/5
      Creative, funny, thought provoking.
    • 4/5
      After the first essay, on Daum's difficult relationship with her mother and how it played out during her mother's death from cancer, I had this down as a 5-star book. It's sharp, moving, self-critical and beautifully written. There are other excellent essays in the book, but nothing quite lives up to the gut punch of the first. Still, it's a great book, only partly spoiled by a strangely misguided essay entitled 'honorary dyke', which feels appropriative and poorly thought through. I'm still going to chase down Daum's first book of essays - I was really impressed by a lot of this.
    • 5/5
      I am extremely picky about my books of essays. I like very few. I LOVED this one. I read them sporadically over the course of about a month. Sometimes I wouldn't even read a whole one at once. And yet, the thoughts and ideas and concepts not only stuck with me, but REALLY stuck with me. I ended up writing about a couple of her topics on my own online journal. This was really a very excellent read.
    • 5/5
      Got me very emotional quite a few times. I am also a 40-something childless woman (although unmarried) who owns 2 dogs so I felt that this was quite relevant to my life. I will listen to this audiobook a few more times.
    • 5/5
      Call it what you will--creative nonfiction, intimate journalism, literary nonfiction-- Meghan Daum is a talented prose stylist at the top of this genre and “Unspeakable” is an absolute gem. I don’t often buy books, but this was one of the very few I’ve actually purchased this year. You see, I’m an Amazon Top Reviewer, so I’m generally swamped with free Advanced Readers Copies that come directly from authors, publishers, publicists, or from Amazon itself. You’d think I had access to all the free books I’d ever want to read--and I do--but occasionally a few very good ones miss my inbox, catch my eye, and I know I just have to buy them and read them for the pure pleasure of it. This collection of essays was a perfect example of that.I live in Los Angeles, so I’m familiar with Daum as a regular “L.A. Times” columnist. I love reading her work not only because she writes brilliantly with flashes of humor, but also because she is such a forthright authentic personality. She’s the type of person who tells us what she feels about important things in life not because she seeks a confessional, but because she knows that honesty will help us all to live the frank aboveboard lives we were meant to live. She helps us to feel happy in our own skin and with our own odd “unspeakable” thoughts. This book is not a saucy confessional. Don’t read it if you’re expecting someone to open up and tell you a bunch of naughty secrets. This is definitely not that type of book. It’s a collection of ten essays about ordinary (and extraordinary) life drawn from the author’s private experience. What we discover is wide-open truth and honesty about personal matters that shape lives. Think of it as an enlightening and often humorous peak inside the unknowable truth of the human condition. It’s been said that Daum is Generation-X’s version of Joan Didion. While I have no doubt that could, indeed, be true, I’m happy to say that her essays are an intellectual and emotional balm to members of my Baby-Boomer Generation, as well. Two days ago, when I was still in the middle of reading this enjoyable collection, Slate magazine announced that Daum’s “Unspeakable” made it to their top-10-books-of-the-year list. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m not surprised. It is definitely that good.If all I’ve said interests you, don’t hesitate to buy it and read it. Based on my own experience, I’m convinced this book will give you a lot of pleasure and make you feel good about yourself and your life. Heck, what more could you want from a book?