A review by inthecommonhours
Cool, Calm & Contentious by Merrill Markoe
4.0
For me, it was the right book at the right time.
I saw Markoe interviewed by Jon Stewart, and it was clear how much he enjoyed her, especially her essays on her difficult mother. I went searching for her essay immediately after the show.
That essay, and the others dealing with her parents, were easily the best of the book. In many ways, the book was sadder, more depressing, than it was funny. She reminded me of my family in her pride/condescension on the river trip.
I turned to the book to escape the wildfire descriptions of The Big Burn, and then one chapter of hers was all about the wildfires in California. She kept referring to "uniformed firemen"...as if to clarify that they were clothed?
I saw Markoe interviewed by Jon Stewart, and it was clear how much he enjoyed her, especially her essays on her difficult mother. I went searching for her essay immediately after the show.
That essay, and the others dealing with her parents, were easily the best of the book. In many ways, the book was sadder, more depressing, than it was funny. She reminded me of my family in her pride/condescension on the river trip.
I turned to the book to escape the wildfire descriptions of The Big Burn, and then one chapter of hers was all about the wildfires in California. She kept referring to "uniformed firemen"...as if to clarify that they were clothed?