poenaestante's review
2.0
This book had lots of vivid detail, a few cute moments, and absolutely no point. It was trying to be super clever and ended up just being pointless and dumb. If your two favorite characters are going to be from an isolated cult then don't try to sell me on them knowing how to use a remote control and recognizing Cher. If these cult members are on a mission to recruit new members, why is there precious little detail about them actually doing any of it? I just don't get it, and frankly I shouldn't have bothered. Walter Kirn wrote Up In The Air, and I also found that movie to be quaint and full of details and totally pointless. Oh well, I am glad to have at least read some fiction. It'd been ages. I do hope my next fiction is better than this stinker!
escapegrace's review against another edition
4.0
My introduction to Kirn's work was his appearance at the Central Library for Lost in the Meritocracy. If you were there, you know the excerpt he read was memorable. (Teaser: there is college humiliation and piano destruction.) So I started this book, which had been on my shelf awhile. Mission to America is enjoyable as a subtle parody of the current state of American spirituality and lack thereof.
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