The Best American Essays 2013 Paperback – October 8, 2013

This year’s collection features only one essay I would consider especially memorable, but at least it’s not crammed with the usual lot of multicultural jeremiads about gender and ethnicity. Hats off to Cheryl Strayed for evidently realizing these collections have been polluted by far too many of those.This went on sale early October, 2013.***“Free Rent at the Totalitarian Hotel,” by Poe Ballantine. The author reflects on a time in his life when he lived with an artist community in Eureka, California, and accepted some work he is not proud of.“Night,” by Alice Munro. The author reflects on a phase she went through as a child, wherein she was tempted to strangle her younger sleeping sister.“Sometimes a Romantic Notion,” by Richard Schmitt. We’ve all heard the phrase “run off and join the circus.” The author explores what happened as a result of his actually having done so.“Highway of Lost Girls,” by Vanessa Veselka. The author reflects on a time in which she hitchhiked around the country with truck drivers, apparently narrowly missing being murdered.“Keeper of the Flame,” by Matthew Vollmer. The essay recounts a visit to an eccentric collector of Nazi memorabilia.“Breeds of America,” by William Melvin Kelley. Obligatory essay in which the author reflects on what it means to be Black in America.“My Father’s Women,” by Mako Yoshikawa. The author’s father has died and she reflects on the various wives and girlfriends he had.“Confessions of an Ex-Mormon,” by Walter Kirn. Author reflects wistfully on how he came to separate from Mormonism in his younger years, and what Mormonism holds for him now.“I’m Jumping Off the Bridge,” by Kevin Sampsell. The author explains how he reacted when a customer approached him and informed him he was about to commit suicide.“Pigeons,” by Eileen Pollack. This was a distasteful essay. Ostensibly about how the author would misbehave as a child, the real point of the essay is to convince you how smart she is -- and how smart she’s always been, even as a kid.“Triage,” by Jon Kerstetter. Author discusses what it’s like to work in a military triage unit in a field hospital in Iraq: in crisis conditions, the army has guidelines on passing over those goners who cannot be meaningfully helped, etc.“The Art of Being Born,” by Marcia Aldrich. Writing to her new child, the author gives an extended version of the circumstances surrounding the infant’s birth.“What Happens in Hell,” by Charles Baxter. Author recounts the time he was involved in a taxi accident caused by a proselytizing foreigner.“The Exhibit Will Be So Marked,” by Ander Monson. The author recounts what happened when, for his thirty-third birthday, he asked his family and friends to make him thirty-three mix CDs.“The Girls in My Town,” Angela Morales. Thoughts on the lives and decisions of the poorer, younger, and often Hispanic women of the author’s town, bundled with reflections on how she is alienated from this group.“Some Notes on Attunement,” Zadie Smith. The author reflects on the wisdom to be gained by actively pursuing a specialized connoisseurship, and on coming ‘round to Joni Mitchell’s sensibilities.“His Last Game,” by Brian Doyle. The author watches a neighborhood basketball game with his brother of 50 years, who is about to die from some disease. Props to the author for understanding that your readers don’t need everything spelled out!“When They Let Them Bleed,” by Tod Goldberg. The author reflects on having seen, as a youth, boxer Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini beat an opponent to death in the ring.“Field Notes on Hair,” Vicki Weiqi Yang. In the course of cancer treatment at a young age, the author lost her hair. The essay is a reflection on what that felt like and what hair might symbolize in general.“Letter from Majorca,” by J. D. Daniels. I made a complete turn-about after reading this essay a second time. On first go-through, it had seemed the worst essay of the lot: confused, self-indulgent, and careening incoherently from one topic to another, leaving the reader to tie together disparate strands and see how insightful the author was. After reading it a second time with deep concentration, I’ve changed my mind: for me, this is the best essay in here. This author alone, I feel, was on to something not obvious and elusive -- and managed, ultimately, to communicate it --in a way the others were not. Superficially an account of the time the he left his university teaching job to work on a small ship with an Israeli crew, all mingled with various scatological ruminations.“Ghost Estates,” by John Jeremiah Sullivan. The author goes back to Ireland, putatively to his roots, and discovers that they’re not his “roots” in any meaningful sense.“Channel B,” by Megan Stielstra. The author puts a video monitor on her baby and soon discovers that on channel B, owing to crossed electrical signals, she can view a neighbor’s baby whose mother is using the same contraption. Hijinks ensue.“A Little Bit of Fun Before He Died,” by Dagoberto Gilb. The author knew Raymond Carver and offers his memories of him.“Epilogue: Deadkidistan,” by Michelle Mirsky. The author had a son who died two years previously and reflects on the hole that leaves.“El Camino Doloroso,” by David Searcy. Tale of a man who spends a great deal of time souping up a vintage truck only to back over a kitten as soon as it’s restored.“The Book of Knowledge,” by Steven Harvey. Probably the most technically proficient essay of the bunch, at least going by mainstream aesthetics. The author weaves his memories of a childhood encyclopedia seamlessly into the circumstances surrounding his mother’s suicide. Hard-hitting, but not really something you’d read twice. Sorry about your mom, Steve. But the good news is that you’re a master of your craft.So, in all, the usual staid and predictable collection of essays. Think! Reflect! Ponder! But only along conventional, pre-approved lines.

Essays well written informative non-biased topics that make you reflect after you are done reading. All different which makes it that much more enjoyable.

I am used to reading novels long historical fiction, what people started calling and continue to call classics (theses books seem to change depending on who is discussing them and where), fan of Russian novels and nonfiction books that discuss culture if other cultures in other countries and times. This was my first time reading a book of essays. I didn't think I would like it as one chapter starts a new story with different characters. I thought it would be to disjointed and too difficult to form any emotional attachment. Well I was wrong. Each story written in different voices give the reader new things to contemplate and consider. The writing if done correctly does not need to be expanded into a long novel. It would detract from the story. The directness in which these are written allows for unique glimpses into windows of other people's lives. Well worth the time. Look forward to reading more.

My wife is reading this book of essays aloud to me because I am visually impaired. We haven't read all of the essays yet, but thought the introduction by Cheryl Strayed enhanced interest.The first essay, "Free Rent at the Totalitarian Hotel" by Poe Ballantine, is at once touching, shocking, and poignant.Alice Munro's "Night" elicits great sympathy for a family caught up in a struggle to acquire their own farm under the supervision of a father who is a bit paranoid and eccentric."Sometimes a Romantic Notion," by Richard Schmitt explores the lure of the circus and the propensity to refer to joining the circus, as "running away to join the circus," as if it were a foregone conclusion that just anyone can join the circus.Vanessa Veselka's "Highway of Lost Girls" deals with vulnerable runaway teenagers hitching rides at truck stops and the terrible things that sometimes happen to them. Ms. Veselka speaks from experience.I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of the essays. I certainly recommend the book based on the essays we have read.

As I haven't read all essays that the editors had to read in order to select, it is impossible to evaluate whether this one was the best possible. From my part, I enjoyed it a lot with opportunity of meeting authors who I wouldn't otherwise read and now will look for other writings. Particular to my taste were Letters from Majorca by J. D. Daniels; Highway of Lost Girls, by Vanessa Veselka; Sometimes a Romantic Notion, by Richard Schmitt and, most of all, Free Rent at the Totalitarian Hotel, by Poe Ballantine. Any selection has to do with whom is selecting but, at the end, the quality of the final selection results from the selector not being too peculiar or too much interested in his/her own life, being able to find essays that transcends the particular. The final selection by Cheryl Strayed is prone, in my view, to reach different types of readers. My daughter, for example, to whom I recommended, loved them all and, like me, in particular the mentioned essays by Vanessa Veselka and Poe Ballantine.

Generally, I like and enjoy reading essays. The big problem I have with essays is they are someone's opinion or polemic, if you will, about some subject of his/her choosing. Normally that means the author is going to beat you about the head and shoulders trying to make the point. Most essayists leave little to the imagination or require you to think or speculate to understand their objectives. Having said all that, I enjoy reading essays because others' viewpoints on certain subjects do now, and always have held a great deal of interest for me.

was bought as a gift for my daughter. As far as I am aware, it's a hit. Highly recommended to Cheryl Strayed fans, and others too!

Excellent

Great collection of essays

Simply wonderful! I was happy I took the time to read through these well-thought, truly inspirational essays.