Escape into Meaning
Essays on Superman, Public Benches, and Other Obsessions
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3.8 • 6 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Producer, editor, and writer behind the highly addictive, informative, and popular YouTube channel The Nerdwriter, Evan Puschak presents “a brilliant, wide-ranging essay collection that explores meaning and how we make it with the thoughtfulness and open-hearted generosity that have long been hallmarks of Puschak’s writing” (John Green, New York Times bestselling author).
As YouTube’s The Nerdwriter, Evan Puschak plays the polymath, posing questions and providing answers across a wide range of fields—from the power of a split diopter shot in Toy Story 4 to the political dangers of schadenfreude. Now, he brings that same insatiable curiosity and striking wit to this engaging and unputdownable essay collection.
Perfect for fans of Trick Mirror and the writing of John Hodgman and Chuck Klosterman, Escape into Meaning is “a passionate, perceptive” (Hua Hsu, author of Stay True) compendium of fascinating insights into obsession. Whether you’re interested in the philosophy of Jerry Seinfeld or how Clark Kent is the real hero, there’s something for everyone in this effervescent collection.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Puschak, creator of the YouTube channel the Nerdwriter, mines pop culture in this quirky collection. In "Emerson's Magic," he recalls the jolt he received from discovering Essays and Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson as a college freshman, which shocked him with its ability to solidify thoughts that had been "half-formed... in my mind." In "The Comforts of Cyberpunk," Puschak ponders dystopia as depicted in some of the genre's classics including the novel Neuromancer and the film Blade Runner, arriving at a bleak conclusion: "Who could have guessed in the 1980s... that we would happily give up every crumb of personal information for packages delivered a few days sooner?" Puschak occasionally gets too niche as he follows his obsessions down a rabbit hole; in "Superman Is Clark Kent," for example, he compares and contrasts story lines from various Superman movies and spin-offs at such length that only superfans need apply, and in "Thinking in Oeuvres," a dense meditation on Quentin Tarantino's filmography that includes a not entirely convincing comparison to William Butler Yeats, he similarly struggles to engage those not deeply familiar with the essay's subject. Despite the occasional misstep, Puschak's earnest search for meaning and incisive takes make him a writer to watch.
