Scan barcode
A review by chrissie_whitley
The Nineties by Chuck Klosterman
5.0
Honestly, I don't know what to say about Klosterman's The Nineties that hasn't already been said. However, some of my favorite things about the stuff being said can be found in the less-than-stellar reviews (pro and amateur) — because they unwittingly tap directly into the commonly applied label Generation X receives: apathy.
What I love about that term — when affixed with Gen X — Klosterman addresses in The Nineties, for the most part. He touches on why the accusation ends up being circular in nature. Bert says Sally is apathetic, but Sally — mainly, in my opinion and experience, coming from a place of acceptance of events and driving, innate self-sufficiency (which Klosterman doesn't include) — doesn't care about Bert's opinion of her. Whatever, man. This in turn only reinforces his understanding of his accusation and use of the word 'apathy.' It's quite amusing, actually.
I'm a baby Gen Xer. I was born at the end of 1978 and fall more in line with the micro-generation Xennials in many ways. Nevertheless, Gen Xer, I am. When I was in the full-fledged workforce in my very early twenties (at a bank in the foreign exchange department on the trading floor), I had some of the older segment of Gen X literally argue with me about being in their cool kids generation. I found it more than amusing and a wee bit irritating.
Regardless, I'm glad this book exists, and that a Gen Xer wrote it because apparently, our self-sufficiency and go-with-the-flow persistence has landed us in the spot of being a forgotten generation. An omission that only makes us laugh and roll our eyes — because, obviously.
Klosterman fills the frame with such studied deliberation, while springboarding himself from one topic smoothly into the next. He covers all the areas that encompassed, shaped, and halted the nineties. From big world events to strange pop culture phenomena, Klosterman's lens spans the panoramic view of life in a decade that defines a generation.
Audiobook, as narrated by the author: Only a nerdy Gen Xer could've successfully narrated this one. His delivery was great — snark and sarcasm mixed with delicious facts and figures all tying together what makes our own generation so varied and yet so singular.
What I love about that term — when affixed with Gen X — Klosterman addresses in The Nineties, for the most part. He touches on why the accusation ends up being circular in nature. Bert says Sally is apathetic, but Sally — mainly, in my opinion and experience, coming from a place of acceptance of events and driving, innate self-sufficiency (which Klosterman doesn't include) — doesn't care about Bert's opinion of her. Whatever, man. This in turn only reinforces his understanding of his accusation and use of the word 'apathy.' It's quite amusing, actually.
I'm a baby Gen Xer. I was born at the end of 1978 and fall more in line with the micro-generation Xennials in many ways. Nevertheless, Gen Xer, I am. When I was in the full-fledged workforce in my very early twenties (at a bank in the foreign exchange department on the trading floor), I had some of the older segment of Gen X literally argue with me about being in their cool kids generation. I found it more than amusing and a wee bit irritating.
Regardless, I'm glad this book exists, and that a Gen Xer wrote it because apparently, our self-sufficiency and go-with-the-flow persistence has landed us in the spot of being a forgotten generation. An omission that only makes us laugh and roll our eyes — because, obviously.
Klosterman fills the frame with such studied deliberation, while springboarding himself from one topic smoothly into the next. He covers all the areas that encompassed, shaped, and halted the nineties. From big world events to strange pop culture phenomena, Klosterman's lens spans the panoramic view of life in a decade that defines a generation.
Audiobook, as narrated by the author: Only a nerdy Gen Xer could've successfully narrated this one. His delivery was great — snark and sarcasm mixed with delicious facts and figures all tying together what makes our own generation so varied and yet so singular.