The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Being an earlier work of Vowell’s, this book is more a collection of narrative essays than a single narrative work. Basically Sarah Vowell is Chuck Klosterman but, instead of pop culture and sports, she writes about politics and history. Also, she’s more of a book nerd than a hipster nerd. (In case it needs stating: I prefer the Vowellian incarnation on both counts.)
Highlights:
– The Al Gore section in the middle (‘Nerd Voice, Part II’) is an exceptionally insightful look into politics (in the broadest sense) that still manages to be outright funny.
– “I guess Gettysburg is a pilgrimage and, like all pilgrims, I’m a mess. You don’t cross state lines to attend the 137th anniversary of anything unless something’s missing in your life.”
– “The historical periods I like to learn about aren’t so much costume dramas as slasher flicks.”
– “Keeping track of Canadians is like watching a horror movie – it’s ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ in slo-mo. They look like us, but there’s something slightly, eerily off.”
– “I revere the Bill of Rights but, at the same time, I feel like anyone who’s using three or more of them at a time is hogging them too much.”
– “My whole life, no matter how happy I am, I’ve always had this nagging feeling that Teddy Roosevelt is looking over my shoulder, whispering ‘Is this all you are?!’ As is my policy toward all well-rounded people, I sort of hate him a little.”