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    American Rococo: Essays On the Edge
    Unavailable
    American Rococo: Essays On the Edge
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    American Rococo: Essays On the Edge
    Ebook284 pages5 hours

    American Rococo: Essays On the Edge

    By Isham Cook

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    What do seashells, obesity, graffiti, and the American ghetto have in common? Nude hot springs and the Japanese theater? Atheists and family-values conservatives? Why do atheists go on religious pilgrimages? How have schools infantilized our understanding of Shakespeare, and the textbook industry conspired to turn our language's history into agitprop? What is the single most dangerous sexual idea that even the liberated can't handle?

    Ranging across centuries and continents, Isham Cook's far-flung essays, whether discoursing on the most radical or homespun of topics, are guided by the notion of the "edge." The edge represents the limits of conventional understanding, the zone beyond stereotypes and groupthink; it is where received ideas are recast in fresh and striking ways.

    "Food for thought, elegantly prepared." -- Kirkus Reviews

    "Reminds one of an etching that has been precisely scribed to create a sharp effect." -- Michael Collins, author of St George and the Dragons: The Making of English Identity

    "Imagine a conversation over thirteen evenings with a perceptive and erudite companion." -- James Lande, author of Yang Shen: The God from the West

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIsham Cook
    Release dateMar 18, 2017
    ISBN9780998413303
    Unavailable
    American Rococo: Essays On the Edge
    Author

    Isham Cook

    American essayist and novelist based in China since 1994. Writing philosophy: downmarket, big concept, discriminating, provocative, outrageous. Ballard, Beckett, Borges, Dick, Kafka, Hesse, Melville, Mishima, Sade are influences.

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    Reviews for American Rococo

    3/5

    2 ratings2 reviews

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    • 2/5
      American Rococo from Isham Cook is, well, about all I can say is that it is indeed a collection of essays. Essays, as compared with fiction and even informative nonfiction, are most prone to over or under appreciation depending largely on how the reader hears the writer's voice. For me, and this is true of the other works of his I have read, find his tone to be camouflage for an admittedly wide but not very deep understanding of what he writes about. Trump speaks on topics far and wide also yet no one in their right mind would accuse him of having any depth. The same holds true here, just without the unrepentant offensiveness of Trump. There isn't really any malice here, just not much meat either. Again, many essayists can get away with less meat by writing their opinions clearly as opinions. Cook pretends he is writing facts and valid analogies when, largely, he is just blustering.So, I obviously find his voice both lacking and annoying. While I will stand behind what I wrote above I also know that many will find some substance in the essays simply because they hear his voice different from the way I do. If you have never read Cook and for some reason you want to (I don't mean that negatively, I just mean that perhaps someone recommended him so you want to read him) I don't think this is a particularly bad book to start with. The things he touches on that are more narrative and less pseudo-intellectual posturing are quite interesting. If they cause you to consider them independent of the essay then you will have gained something. If you're a fan or at least have liked his other work then I see nothing in this volume that would likely cause you to dislike it, so I would recommend this to you as well. If you have not liked his previous work or you have no compelling reason to read this then I would suggest reading almost anything else available, especially if you want to be mentally stimulated and challenged to (re)consider ideas or events.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      This was a pretty good collection of essays. My favorite my far was the first story actually. I really liked how the author described the subject (no spoilers!) on the very first page. If you're a fan of interesting essays this would be a great book.