A review by jortsmanor
Sidewalks by Valeria Luiselli

5.0

Valeria Luiselli's essays play out as a form of magical realism, casual explorations of cities by an eternal traveler enamored with the mundane. The screen on the back of an airplane seat becomes a method of torture, a cemetery an ephemeral space filled with life. As a taste, I mention a single quote, one that stuck with me as simultaneously morbid and hilarious:

The outcome of a long-awaited first meeting is often disappointing. The same is true of an encounter with a dead person, except that there’s no need to hide the disappointment: in that sense, a dead person is always more agreeable than a living one.

It's a great read if you're someone who enjoys meandering. It's an even better read if you're one who finds the simple discoveries of traveling to be something worth writing about.