Book Review |
First Person, Last Strawby Brian Bogucki |
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First Person, Last Straw
by Tom Waters
Author House, 2005 $17.75
Some things in life don’t happen often enough. Discovering a favorite food, falling in love, and reading a book that gives as much as it takes from you. First Person, Last Straw is one of those books. Tom Waters is the last of a dying breed of essayists. He’s a humorist with one hand planted firmly on a whiskey bottle and the other lighting a cigarette. His headspace is simple: bitching about whatever is irritating him that day. While not an original premise, this complaining works because Waters makes you feel like you’re reading this type of exercise with fresh eyes. In the first section of the collection, ‘the rants’, we get his take on smoking, work, movies, video games and several other tawdry subjects. For all his jokes and genuine hilarity, we’re also given the opportunity to look at a man who’s not too proud to bare his soul for our enjoyment. In the second section, the author encloses interviews he’s conducted with porn stars, comic artists, magazine editors and musicians. Adding to this are reviews of local bars and concerts, each painting a vivid picture of some local experiences. The third and final section contains poetry along with a blog containing scandalous exploits in a few month’s time. His duality comes out in spades comparing the blog with the poetry; where one is hard living and reckless, the other is somber and more reflective. The poetry has some genuine angst to it, but it also conveys the gentle touch of someone who loves what he’s capable of emotionally. Waters paints a picture of an intelligent man with many gifts. The laughs come fast and furious, but he settles down at the absolute perfect moment and gives us something to think about, remember from childhood, or that just lets us in on how he works.
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