A review by libs
Against Everything: Essays by Mark Greif
3.0
In theory, this is the kind of book I love. A collection of essays about a wide variety of things - art, music, war, culture of all kinds! Get me a copy right away!
In practice, I don't think Greif quite executed what I wanted from the book. I've been reading/rereading a lot of John Berger's essays lately which are so beautifully infused with a passion for life, and dipping back into Durga Chew-Bose's debut book which has these beautifully contemplative and descriptive essays in it, and a lot of Rebecca Solnit, also wonderful for making it seem very good to be alive. And - this book is called Against Everything. It's hardly going to be a beacon of hope. But whilst the kernels of each essay are interesting, I feel like Greif's writing is often really unpleasant to read. Some essays were great, and there were occasional paragraphs that made me really glad I'd bought this book. But overall, his writing style just feels so dour.
I like writing that also takes time to appreciate the act of writing as well as the subject matter, and this book doesn't have that.
It's still not bad, it's just ... not the book I thought it was. I might get more out of it returning to individual essays at a later point, but not right now.
In practice, I don't think Greif quite executed what I wanted from the book. I've been reading/rereading a lot of John Berger's essays lately which are so beautifully infused with a passion for life, and dipping back into Durga Chew-Bose's debut book which has these beautifully contemplative and descriptive essays in it, and a lot of Rebecca Solnit, also wonderful for making it seem very good to be alive. And - this book is called Against Everything. It's hardly going to be a beacon of hope. But whilst the kernels of each essay are interesting, I feel like Greif's writing is often really unpleasant to read. Some essays were great, and there were occasional paragraphs that made me really glad I'd bought this book. But overall, his writing style just feels so dour.
I like writing that also takes time to appreciate the act of writing as well as the subject matter, and this book doesn't have that.
It's still not bad, it's just ... not the book I thought it was. I might get more out of it returning to individual essays at a later point, but not right now.