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eileen_critchley's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I read this collection (almost) every year and obviously I'm a bit behind. This year's collection is really essays from 2020.. and we are all well aware that 2020 was somewhat of a heavy year. That is represented here.. the 2020 election, COVID, BLM.
There are always some standouts and some that speak less to me. This is definitely a NY-heavy collection (the editor is a writer for the New Yorker).
Standouts for me- The Broken Country, The Kitchen is Closed, Bent Arrows, Clarity, What Money Can't Buy, Apparent, Witness and Repair. There will always be, in any of these anthologies, thoughts that stay with me and that I revisit. This particular year felt a little dark, but again.. 2020.
Now to get to the 2022 Best Essays before 2023 comes out in October. (I'm behind on the Short Stories too. Oh well.)
{owned, paperback}
There are always some standouts and some that speak less to me. This is definitely a NY-heavy collection (the editor is a writer for the New Yorker).
Standouts for me- The Broken Country, The Kitchen is Closed, Bent Arrows, Clarity, What Money Can't Buy, Apparent, Witness and Repair. There will always be, in any of these anthologies, thoughts that stay with me and that I revisit. This particular year felt a little dark, but again.. 2020.
Now to get to the 2022 Best Essays before 2023 comes out in October. (I'm behind on the Short Stories too. Oh well.)
{owned, paperback}
abbyreads8's review against another edition
3.0
These anthologies are always hit or miss - I find that I usually do rank them a 3 on a scale of 5 because of this. While it is published in and titled with the year 2021, this is actual comprised of essays published in 2020, a year of pandemic and protest like no other we had previously experienced. I usually really enjoy how all-encompassing essays in the TBAE editions are, but these felt very much so like current events pieces, which is apt for the editor, who is a staff writer at the New Yorker. Overall, a good read.
My favorite essays, in order of how they appear in the book:
The Trayvon Generation -Elizabeth Alexander
Bent Arrows: On Anticipation of My Approaching Disappearance -Tony Hoagland
What Money Can’t Buy -Dawn Lundy Martin
Apparent -Beth Nguyen
Witness and Respair -Jesmyn Ward
My favorite essays, in order of how they appear in the book:
The Trayvon Generation -Elizabeth Alexander
Bent Arrows: On Anticipation of My Approaching Disappearance -Tony Hoagland
What Money Can’t Buy -Dawn Lundy Martin
Apparent -Beth Nguyen
Witness and Respair -Jesmyn Ward
zeljana's review against another edition
4.0
This is an eclectic collection of essays published in major publications that somewhat vary in quality. Some of the highlights here for me were crushing "Apparent" by Beth Nguyen about meeting her estranged mother after their life so cruelly set them apart and "Witness and Respair" by Jesmyn Ward on the loss of her husband and the grief that followed. Jesmyn Ward's piece is probably the strongest of the selection.
Some of these essays were insightful and interesting, if not as personal, like "Kitchen is closed" by Gabrielle Hamilton about dealing with the pandemics as a restaurant owner and "Acceptance Parenting" by Agnes Callard about modern parenting.
Some were ok, but just not for me (Barry Lopez, who I normally admire). I also liked "In Orbit" by D. Suarez a lot, but it was so unnecessarily apologetic I felt bad for the author.
Some of these essays were insightful and interesting, if not as personal, like "Kitchen is closed" by Gabrielle Hamilton about dealing with the pandemics as a restaurant owner and "Acceptance Parenting" by Agnes Callard about modern parenting.
Some were ok, but just not for me (Barry Lopez, who I normally admire). I also liked "In Orbit" by D. Suarez a lot, but it was so unnecessarily apologetic I felt bad for the author.
ladyeremite's review against another edition
3.0
I guess given the 2021 editor's professional trajectory, it's hardly surprising that so many of these essays were just so topical. But, while there were some that I really loved (Gabrielle Hamilton's account of closing her restaurant Prune during the pandemic for instance), a lot just seemed so predictable. While obviously this past year has left us with much to think about, it seems like an unfortunate sign of the times that this collection offered so few escapes into the new.
aaliyahg's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
lukescalone's review against another edition
5.0
This is an incredible collection of essays published throughout 2020, many of which deal with the grief and pain of that year (that still continues to the present). The crowning achievement here is Jesmyn Ward's "Witness and Respair"--what an incredible piece of writing.