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You know when a student copies someone else's work and then tries to read it, but misses the point and the inflection in the oration? Im not saying that she copied this work, but she is monotone generally, and then inflects in the wrong place in a sentence... and not as direct quotes but she says things like "windy" as in blowing air, when she means "windy" like a curvy road. in SEVERAL places, and its not just a "cultural difference". The book was like listening to a 4th grader's " my summer vacation" diary. and then I was in texas and saw a taxidermist, and then i was in... but monotone till the wrong point in the scentence. It was like a bad bad Saturday Night Live skit. NOT RECOMMENDED
i like most travel writings. at times these stories seemed like they were going to be funny, but then weren't; seemed like they would be moving, then drifted off. overall, it wouldn't be a top recommendation I'd make to a friend.
I actually sent this back after about 30 minutes of listening. It was so disjointed and random that I couldn't follow. Sorry.
Although the appeal of the essays was more variable than I expected, this is worth renting. Sometimes, the author captures the quirky details of the place or events, while in other essays, she concentrates on the people she encounters. (The "daydream" about Tina Turner staying in the author's apartment and borrowing her clothes is probably one of the least effective pieces, because the imagined events don't actually occur, the place isn't that interesting, and we never meet the characters.) The wide variety of subjects covered might make this a good book for a road trip with others, when you're trying to appeal to several listeners. (The passengers who aren't captivated by a particular essay can flip through a magazine, instead.)
SUSAN ORLEAN, a staff writer at "The New Yorker", is the author of four books, including "The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People."