Hello folks. I have officially started in my capacity as a volunteer law clerk with the United States Attorney's Office. Yes, I will have a badge, but unfortunately, I don't think I get a gun, or a black SUV. I would tell you what I'm actually doing, but then Barack Obama would have to kill you. So, in lieu of that, I'll review a book instead.
That last sentence wasn't a lie, I am actually, here, in this space, reviewing a book. A book that I'm proud to say, I read entirely on my own volition, forced not by law professors with their beady little eyes; but rather chosen by my own intellectual curiosity and desire to bring a little more dry, pretentious humor into my life.
To a certain extent though, isn't that every liberal's dream; to make themselves seem just a little bit more interesting?
(raises hand).
Anyways, "The Book of Guys," by Minnesota's own Garrison Keillor, is my literary conquest. Lest you think I read a novel, this tome is actually a collection of short stories; all of which relate to some degree to the issues confronting manhood in the 20th century. I think it translates well though to the 21st. To the Future.
The general tone, the connective tissue of the entire book is contained in the following phrase - "Years ago, manhood was an opportunity for achievement, and now it is a problem to be overcome."
To a certain extent, I think I agree with this. I agree that we, as men, spend a lot of our time trying to be Mr. All-Rite, especially those of us who are entangled in some way with women. Keillor recognizes the intoxicating effect women have on men in a very funny introduction, something intimately known to every man, probably only in their subconscious. What it really comes down to though, is that there's this sense that by trying so hard to make ourselves appealing to women, appealing to life, we as men sacrifice a bit of our manhood in the process. Whatever the hell "manhood" is.
The stories, I think there are around 20 or so, meditate on this topic. They range from around 20 pages to maybe a 3 page poem. The vast majority of them are absolutely hilarious, if you're into Keillor's humor. I happen to be, so thus, it was hilarious. I think my favorite ones have to be the one where the cowboy decides to leave the trail life to live in town; the one where Dionysius has a midlife crisis, the presumably semi-autobiographical Gary Keillor, and Winthrop Thorpe Tortuga, not the least because it prominently involves the Twins. But yeah, there is just some wicked, biting, racy humor in here. Absolutely fantastic.
I suppose this isn't so much a review, as a reflection. Of course, I recommend it, but I think a lot of the value of reading comes from the way you think about it afterwards, how the experience of reading that particular book shapes how you see the world. I'm afraid I don't have anything too insightful to say about that, except that I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and I could resonate with some of its outcrying against suppressed masculinity. Plus, I'm pretty sure I had an audible chortle in public while reading. If that's not the sign of a good book, I don't know what is.
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