This book was an accidental find in a bookshop in which I work. What a lovely discovery. Teju Cole's topics range from books and authors to photography and politics. Throughout the book, Cole demonstrates that he has the education, intellect and writing skills to convey his thoughts to the reader in an accessible and interesting style. Some readers may accuse Cole of name-dropping or disagree with what he says and I will not argue with them. However, for me, this book was both a conversation and an education. ( )

Maybe I'm not an essay reader, or maybe I need to read longer, more in-depth essays. A huge collection of 2 or 3 page essays originally written elsewhere - it felt random, even though it was divided into 3 themes. Much photography writing, which I didn't find interesting. I don't think the problem is with the essays - I may have liked them if I read them scattered here and there over time. Collecting them together was my problem.

I am a novelist, and my goal in writing a novel is to leave the reader not knowing what to think. A good novel shouldn't have a point.

This past Saturday my wife and I viewed the Parts Unknown episode devoted to Lagos. This viewing was obviously burdened with grief. What did my mourning betray? I spent much of the weekend lodged in such contemplation but alas Saturday I watched Anthony Bourdain traipsing the frenetic streets of the Nigerian capital.

He made allusions to the improvisational nature of the city, how it self-regulated. There was only a casual gloss to the idea that the city "policed itself". This minor point was the subject of essay late in Cole's collection. Lynching or popular justice is still somewhat common in Nigeria. Apparently it is often documented on Youtube. I told my best friend who was about to fly back from the Netherlands I wish I could unread the graphic essay. This is Cole's gift: he makes us uneasy, not expectedly like when discussing racial politics but about the reality of the fleeting human experience.

Cole name-drops, but with a deadpan air. He introduces figures, like Peter Sculthorpe of whom I wasn't at all aware. He cites lines of poetry and ruminates on why in Brazil the wait staff ignore him in a restaurant. Much of this volume is on photography which offers minimal interest to me. There is also some excellent journalism. Cole went to Harlem in 2008 the night of president Obama's election. Cole looks at his unlikely origins born in Michigan, raised in Nigeria and back to the US as a plethora of challenges and opportunities. He is haunted by his own doppelgänger: W.G. Sebald. He parses Sebald's work and reflects. there is a rich vein of estrangement in his work. perhaps in my own life. Maybe that's why even when in deep disagreement with the author, Teju Cole feels like home. ( )

This is a collection of more than fifty essays by the learned Teju Cole, an African-American essayist. Many of the essays introduce the reader to writing and art he or she might not have otherwise seen. There is, however, a hint of self-aggrandizement in the tone of the writing. ( )

An impressive collection of elegantly written essays!
I have read a couple of fiction books by Teju Cole and was interesting in reading his essay collection to see if his nonfiction writing would shed light on his fiction writing. Not only did I gain a new appreciation for his fiction writing but was treated to a thoughtful contemplative journey of timely and informative issues.

While this enthralling collection covers a diverse range of subjects it is the sincere honesty in the writing that had me in a thoughtful mood after each essay. I highly recommend this collection to readers looking for an intelligent thought-provoking read ( )