NONFICTION

The Best American Essays 2015

by Ariel Levy
Mariner: Houghton Harcourt. (Best American). Oct. 2015. 272p. ed. by . ISBN 9780544569621. pap. $14.95; ebk. ISBN 9780544579217. LIT
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Levy (staff writer, The New Yorker; Female Chauvinist Pigs) gathers works published in prestigious literary magazines and journals to produce this year's Best collection. Creating a coherent anthology within a genre that by definition defies definition is no easy task, but Levy succeeds so well as to leave no trace of her efforts. Despite disparate voices, tones, structures, and content, these essays flow naturally into one another and are cinched by a recurring theme on aging. Roger Angell's "This Old Man" is literally a meditation on what it's like to be 93, with a whole catalog of deceased friends and loved loves and still wanting—thankfully—love and intimacy. In "Find Your Beach," Zadie Smith describes the changing face of her New York City neighborhood and reflects on how commercialization has marked the end of an age in its history.
VERDICT A mixture of the philosophical and the humorous, all of these essays are compelling to read and resonate deeply. Works by new voices, such as Kelly Sundberg's haunting "It Will Look Like a Sunset," about her struggle to leave her physically abusive husband, also stand out. Memoir fans will not want to miss.
Reviewed by Meagan Lacy, Guttman Community Coll., CUNY , Sep 15, 2015
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