This is a collection of weird creative nonfiction pieces. In this personal pet-project of sorts, gathered and shaped when COVID hit through mid-2024, Jennifer Spiegel brings together some previously published pieces, an "Ode to David Sedaris," and a little Gen X-obsessing. The topics are diverse: philosophizing over Pulp Fiction or recalling Spiegel's failure to pass the Foreign Service Exam often gives way to thoughts on creative writing and Art (uppercase "A"). Frankly, this is a myopic, personal, and eclectic collection. It's okay to repeat that: a myopic, personal, and eclectic collection. From Red Square and Dublin to Oklahoma and Brooklyn, from Nelson Mandela and Michael Scott to Donald Trump and Larry David, from Rick Springfield and Ethan Hawke to U2 and Elena Ferrante, Spiegel writes with, well, gusto on religion and race and rock 'n' roll. This is, at the end of the day, unorthodox orthodoxy.
