Review - Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman

Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
Publisher: Scribner 2009
Hardback 245 pages



I can't remember why I wanted to read this book. That happens to me a lot. I might see a book in Publishers Weekly or on the feed of new books that is sent out to all the librarians once a month. A title may peak my interest, is added to my holds list, only to be forgotten by the time it finds its way into my hands.

When I first sat down to read this book I made a fatal error. I assumed that it was a novel, or at best a type of autobiographical tale that would have some semblance of chronological order. I was horribly mistaken. This book is a series of social observations, seemingly disconnected from each other, but all bound by the very large theme of the human experience. And while I was initially turned off by this, I found that the problem really originated in the manner I was reading the book. Instead of reading it cover to cover I would periodically pick up the book, open it to a random page and read until I was satisfied. Taken in these bite-sized morsels this book is fantastic. It is so varied that I would challenge anyone to not have a moment of affinity with the author. For myself I can totally agree about the Germans; they are weird.

I should mention as a very interesting side note that this book has to be one of the most thoroughly indexed books I have ever come across. Considering the subject matter, one would hardly believe that someone would have taken the time to index it, let alone to the extent that it is.