The Anthologist

The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker (2009) The saga of a relatively unsuccessful poet struggling to write the introduction to an anthology of rhyming verse—is an almost absurdly hilarious, and inaccurate, synopsized hard sell to a publisher who is interested (as they all are) in selling books. Who’s going to pay $25 for that book? Well, fortunately fans of Nicholson Baker. I’d call myself one, but I forgot about him for a while. His book, The Mezzanine (1988) made such an impression on me that he’s never been far from my thoughts, even though I’ve admittedly not followed his career very closely. I recently heard about this new book of his, about drawing, which sounds like my cup of tea—so I looked at what else I might have missed, and tried this one, which I loved. It’s narrated by “Paul Chowder” who has a voice and demeanor I was immediately drawn to. He reminds me of some older, smarter friends I’ve had over the years who indulged my cluelessness and taught me a lot—enriched my life, as well as amused me. Much of this book is about poetry, and the more you know about that subject, the more you might get into it—but I’m weak in that area, but never mind. It’s also about a guy whose girlfriend has left him, and he’s trying to find his way—we can all relate to that (or should be able to). He’s kind of a contradictory combination of know-it-all and fool, kind, yet exasperating—easy to laugh at, and also laugh with. Personally, a guy I wanted to spend time with. I think there’s another book with him at the center, so I might read that one, too.

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