Book Review: "Chuck Klosterman IV"
Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Scribner
Aug. 23, 2006
I wont lie. Usually when I get a new book, it doesnt take long to read through it quickly and look forward to my next new read. But this wasnt the case when I received my copy of Chuck Klostermans latest, Chuck Klosterman IV. I took my time reading the book, trying to make each sarcastic quote linger longer than the last.
In this case, I was only able to make it last a week and a half. And what a good week it was.
IV is good. Its very good. I wasnt sure what to expect with Klostermans fourth book as Id heard it was going to be a collection of essays, from both newspaper and magazine columns, over the years. Why would I be excited about a book containing a handful of Spin columns Id most likely already read right after I graduated college? Im happy to say that you should be excited, as I quickly became, about this collection of essays because it serves as a perfect sampling of Klostermans work over the years and, very fittingly, can best be described as his greatest hits.
The book isnt just a gathering of Spin columns, which was good for me. His book spans works from Esquire, which, as a non-reader of that publication, Id never read before. He also has stories from the newspapers of his past, during his Ohio days of local Akron celebrity.
The essay collection, while not solely focused on music like his previous literary endeavors, is a refreshing look at what Klosterman has to say on other aspects of pop culture, relationships and daily life. One of my favorite entries has to be his article on meeting Val Kilmer. Id always assumed Kilmer was crazy after hearing some of his antics from The Doors shoot some 15 years ago, and Klostermans musings about watching bison roam free with the crazy man pretty much confirm those thoughts.
Next in line would have to be Klosterman watching nothing but VH1 Classic for 24 hours straight and his weeklong chicken nugget diet. I mean, who wouldnt love this line, courtesy of Klosterman finding a very attractive blonde at his local McDonalds:
My heart is broken. It hurts almost as much as my tummy.
Something I wasnt expecting was the start of a quasi novel by Klosterman about a woman falling out of the sky and landing on his car in the middle of nowhere. Yeah, I wasnt expecting that either, but it was interesting read into some of the first true fiction Ive read by Klosterman.
Ive read some really interesting takes on Klosterman recently. ::I say that as classic rock riffs begin to play in my head:: Mainstream media is painting him as the Hunter Thompson of my generation, the voice of disillusioned people my age. On the other hand, blogs like Gawker hate him with a burning passion that continues to produce RSS feed after angry RSS feed. All I know is this: Chuck Klosterman makes me laugh and he writes the way I think. Whether or not thats a good thing or just makes me a stereotypical hipster, I dont really care. I loved every page of IV and am already putting into rotation in my library, much like my secret desire to hit repeat on Journeys greatest hits.
::Ssshh, you didnt hear me say that. Theyll take away my hipster card.::
Hear Chuck read the book himself over at his publisher. To see him in action, check out this episode of Amazon's "Fishbowl with Bill Maher," complete with a performance from the Flaming Lips.