Vanishing Point: Not a Memoir Review

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(More customer reviews)In one of the opening essays of his autobiographical collection _Vanishing Point: Not a Memoir_, Ander Monson, reflecting on the memoir as a genre, writes, "Very occasionally these individual stories are so striking, conscious, and/or artful that they create a heightened interest: they compel us, they cast that spell over our nighttime hours" (15). Monson's book is likely to do just that for the reader. In essay after essay, he not only explores his own experiences but interrogates the form of the personal essay itself, the "blurred boundaries" (to borrow a phrase from film theorist Bill Nichols) between _non-_ and _fiction_. He strikes a balance between self-aware genre exploration and more open, familiar first-person address, so that one never feels left out of the conversation, even as Monson experiments. Some of these essays originally appeared individually, but I was struck by how coherently they work in the order they're presented, so that unlikely motifs occur--who would have guessed that the world's largest ball of paint could accrue so many meanings (like the object itself, an effect not lost on Monson)? This is a beautiful book, and I would encourage readers interested in the memoir form to read it.

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An adventurous exploration of the "I" in American culture, by the author of Neck Deep and Other PredicamentsMe. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. Me. In contemporary America, land of tell-all memoirs and endless reality television, what kind of person denies the opportunity to present himself in his own voice, to lead with "I"? How many layers of a life can be peeled back before the self vanishes? In this provocative, witty series of meditations, Ander Monson faces down the idea of memoir, grappling with the lure of selfinterest and self-presentation. While setting out to describe the experience of serving as head juror at the trial of Michael Antwone Jordan, he can't help veering off into an examination of his own transgressions, inadvertent and otherwise. He scrutinizes his private experience of the public funeral ceremony for Gerald R. Ford. He considers his addiction to chemically concocted Doritos and disappointment in the plain, natural corn chip, and finds that the manufactured, considered form, at least in snacks, is ultimately a more rewarding experience than the "truth." So why is America so crazy about accurately confessional memoirs?With Vanishing Point, Monson delivers on the promise shown in Neck Deep, which introduced his winning voice and ability to redefine the essay and "puts most memoirs to shame" (Time Out Chicago).

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