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natalie_scarlett's review against another edition
5.0
Read Swanson's piece in Harper's "Anxiety of Influencers" and was blown away. I immediately read this book of essays and loved it. It could be commiserating identification (both English teachers from the Midwest with complex familiar relationships and emotionally raw/critical opinions of contemporary culture) or just that he wears his humane idealism on his sleeve; I like this guy's writing a lot.
soops's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
3.0
i found some of the essays more powerful than the others which is normal. liked it overall! i didn't really
enjoy the one about like the army or something but i think that's more a personal preference. i liked "consciousness razing" and "lost in summerland" the most. i think sometimes it annoyed me that swanson assumes most other people are total morons who don't think internally as much as he does? i think he's very smart and very self-aware, but also anxious and neurotic in the way that men have anxiety and focus on themselves too much. i think he tends to assume that others don't have as complex internal lives as he does, sort of a really casual dismissal of others, but maybe other people just don't want to talk to you about their thoughts! in general i think i agree with him on some things and not on other things. that's all
enjoy the one about like the army or something but i think that's more a personal preference. i liked "consciousness razing" and "lost in summerland" the most. i think sometimes it annoyed me that swanson assumes most other people are total morons who don't think internally as much as he does? i think he's very smart and very self-aware, but also anxious and neurotic in the way that men have anxiety and focus on themselves too much. i think he tends to assume that others don't have as complex internal lives as he does, sort of a really casual dismissal of others, but maybe other people just don't want to talk to you about their thoughts! in general i think i agree with him on some things and not on other things. that's all
udai's review against another edition
4.0
Yes, I also came upon this book after reading the essay about TikTok mansions which is just right in every aspect.
I read this book on my phone in between lectures at the university. And I must say that the essay about Kafka’s “the hunger artist” gave me chills in a public place.
The writing style is to die for. The way the writer tackles any subject is very profound. And yeah, there was a lot of vocabulary that I didn’t know about.
The fifth star is lost just because I thought that some of the essays were a bit American-specific.
I must say that if I ever write a book of essays, I want it to be just like this book.
I read this book on my phone in between lectures at the university. And I must say that the essay about Kafka’s “the hunger artist” gave me chills in a public place.
The writing style is to die for. The way the writer tackles any subject is very profound. And yeah, there was a lot of vocabulary that I didn’t know about.
The fifth star is lost just because I thought that some of the essays were a bit American-specific.
I must say that if I ever write a book of essays, I want it to be just like this book.
gretchenmiller's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
5.0
bella_cavicchi's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
I came across LOST IN SUMMERLAND after reading Swanson's stellar piece on TikTok culture (do read!). I love me an essay collection, and Swanson is an engaging narrator as he observes and probes the peculiarities of living in America today; his best writing emerges when he reflects on his family. (Also: his vocabulary! A dictionary lover's dream.)
And yet the exhaustion, the selfishness, the notion that college students can't write, etc., etc. that Swanson continually points to grows repetitive. The book is impressive -- Swanson knows he can write, we all know that he can write -- but I finished it oddly and sadly unsatisfied. Maybe that's the point?
And yet the exhaustion, the selfishness, the notion that college students can't write, etc., etc. that Swanson continually points to grows repetitive. The book is impressive -- Swanson knows he can write, we all know that he can write -- but I finished it oddly and sadly unsatisfied. Maybe that's the point?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Death, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence and Islamophobia
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