Customer Reviews

Questionstruck: A Collection of Question-Based Texts Derived from the Books of Calvin Trillin

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I loved Walsh's debut novel Without Wax, and think this book, while completely different in every way, was just as enjoyable, once I learned how to read it: Its pages are derived from the works of Calvin Trillin, resulting in new pieces that compile and arrange Trillin's questions into new lines of thought and inquiry, creating a brand new effect that is both interesting as a product and evocative and witty as literature. This is actual experimental writing, unlike so much of what claims that tag, and impressively done. Having read much of Walsh's recently published work, it's interesting to see how much of his intellect and humor and heart I can sense behind these pages. Using selection and arrangement, he's the one creating the new experience of reading these now out-of-context questions, and while the words in Questionstruck were written by Trillin, there's no doubt that the experience is all Walsh, and brilliantly so.

This book contains nothing but questions extracted from Trillin's books. No answers, no analysis, no semblance of anything of worth. It reads like a foolish assignment from a clueless 8th-grade Englsih teacher. If there had been a "look inside" feature on the website, its worthlessness would have been evident. I am a longtime fan of Trillin's, and think he should sue the author for tarnishing his reputation. -- RM in NYC