Saturday 29 June 2013

Lost At Sea - Jon Ronson

A young man called Bill
stands in the shadows behind
a curtain at a converted
paintworks factory in Bristol,
now a TV studio.
Rated 10/10

"The New York Times"-bestselling author of "The Psychopath Test," Jon Ronson writes about the dark, uncanny sides of humanity with clarity and humor. "Lost at Sea "reveals how deep our collective craziness lies, even in the most mundane circumstances. 

Reviewed on my iPhone. 

My thoughts: I had barely reached page 30 and had already been taken behind the scenes of Deal or No Deal and met the worlds most advanced humanoid robots!

This is a book of articles packed with so many interesting people, and Ronson's dry wit and sarcasm that had me thoroughly entertained. I love Ronson's writing style, and I am currently seeking out more of his books for my upcoming holiday.

There have been other less favourable reviews about Ronson not doing research and just showing up to interview people on a whim. I actually quite admire this approach - it makes each article a lot more personal and we can see his own viewpoints based on his observations. Whether we agree with them or not is a different matter; we could always do our own extensive research if the cold hard facts meant that much to us.

Readers should remember that a lot of Ronson's own feelings and emotions come through - it is of course going to be biased. I think that this gives the writing a touch of personal honesty and a bit of an insight into Ronson himself too. I find this connection important in anything I read, whether non fiction or otherwise.

This has actually inspired me to perhaps explore my own passion for writing and perhaps taking this love down a route that I haven't yet explored. Real people provide the most interesting of stories at times, and it takes the right kind of writer to get the best (or worst) out of them. 


An enjoyable and thought provoking collection!

No comments:

Post a Comment