Kent Evans

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this review, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

As regular readers know, I've been tearing through a book a day this December, in an attempt to whittle down my now gigantic to-read list before the holidays are over and I have to get back to regular CCLaP work; and regulars also know that I've been saving up all my "bleh" reviews and running them right before Christmas, in the hopes that the smaller audience at the blog during the holidays will lessen the impact of these so-so to terrible write-ups. And that's because in many of these cases, the books being criticized are not necessarily that bad from an objective standpoint, but just hit a bad nerve when it comes to me in particular; and perhaps there's no greater example of this than Kent Evans' A Crash Course on the Anatomy of Robots, which even the author admits a few pages in is not much more than a blatant ripoff of McSweeney's founder Dave Eggers, one of the dozens of twee metafictional Postmodernist moments that I know other people love, but to me is like fingernails down a f-cking chalkboard. Essentially the rambling story of a hipster douchebag, and all the hipster-douchebag things he does -- backpacking trips through southeast Asia, falling ass-backwards into easy sex with models, complaining about the "artist's life" while working a series of high-paying corporate gigs, a complete inability to see even the slightest amount of hypocrisy in that -- which of course is written in second person, and of course contains byzantine chapter titles for extra-annoying effect, there is so much navel-gazing going on here that even orange groves in Florida are starting to get nervous; and by the time I got to the part where Damien and his friends claim that a human-rights violation has taken place against their buddy, because the police dared to arrest him simply because he was breaking the law, I decided that I had had enough with these Brooklyn poseurs and their unacknowledged-entitlement misadventures. Like I said, this book has received a lot of praise, so obviously there's a legitimate audience out there for it, and I don't mean to imply that it's badly written because it's not; it just concerns one of those subjects that I not only dislike but that literally sets my nerves on edge, and I think it no coincidence that the author proudly mentions in his bio his past involvement with the 1990s performance-poetry community, because so many of the writers who set my nerves on edge seem to come from this background. Consider yourself warned.

Out of 10: 4.4… (mehr)

Original post here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2012/09/arc-review-crash-course-on-anatomy-o...

Well given my knack for the paranormal, I have surprised myself with something a little different yet again. Now be warned, I have never read anything quite like this so reviewing it may seem a bit unusual. But as I have said, I just can't stick to one thing only, I need to expand my proverbial wings. And I am quite glad I did because I definitely want more.

I must admit, I did have a hard time starting this. Like I said, not my usual read. It starts off like a journal with some humor and philosophical views. Then we get some drama and some poetry. The book changes views constantly and it was strange at first, but you catch on. The more you read it, you find there really is a certain rhythm to the story that takes a life of its own. When I started it, I didn't really know what I was getting into or if this was my thing, but that quickly changed.

A Crash Course on the Anatomy of Robots is a confessional literature read. My very first one. It is a book about an artist named Damien and his struggle with living after his parents' deaths. We see the beginnings of his downward spiral in depression, but still somehow managing to put on a face for those around you. He is in this state where nothing or nobody seems to effect him. He just rolls with the punches and pretends for the most part. We see the way he is with his friends and the way he is in relationships. Damien has a more philosophical outlook on friendships/relationships. Throughout the whole book, I didn't get a true connection from him with others. Maybe one or two of the girlfriends specifically Maria. I think a lot of why Damien is the way he is (besides his parents deaths) was because of his relationship with Maria.

Now a couple months ago I did a review for a book called Sykosa. In that review, I talk about how it doesn't necessarily have a plot, not in a typical sense anyway. The characters are what moves the story, they tell us what they want us to know. So instead of having one plot (or subplots), we get a story told through Damien's eyes in certain places or at certain times that effect him specifically. I honestly don't think I would have liked this book as much if it were told a different way because Damien felt more real this way. We get to feel what he is feeling and why he is feeling it. I definitely like this fictional memoir and I intend on reading more.

This book is about feeling detached and like a robot. A book about a man putting a mask and going through the motions due to his tragedy. But I love that Damien still searches to find a center, a way to find himself. That is why Damien travels...a lot. There is a lot of traveling in this book and at first I thought it was Damien's way of escaping. But I love how he describes it. It is his way of finding balance. And this book does have a wonderful balance.

I enjoyed this book a lot. I love Evans use of poetry, philosophy, comedy, travel escapades, spoken word and surprisingly, suspense. This may have started slow for me, but it quickly became a book I couldn't put down especially the last few chapters. Wow, I did not expect this book to be The build up of the story was unexpected and even though Damien could be quite depressing, he was a great main character. Like I said, you will relate to him and his ups and downs (mostly downs). A Crash Course on the Anatomy of Robots is a unique, suspenseful, unpredictable, thought provoking, perceptive read that moves to its own beat.… (mehr)

Kent Evans mixes all kind of styles (poetry, linear and non-linear storytelling, travelogue) and braindumped it into A Crash Course On the Anatomy of Robots. some reviewers compared this work with a collision between Hunter S. Thompson and Pico Iyer. Damien Wood's adolescence years combine failures in creativity, finance, sex. His half-Asian lineage, cultural clashes when traveling make him unable to be emotionally intelligent. Damien tries to reach his inner self by engaginng in hollow relationships. As if a robot lives his life. At the turn of the century Damien's mother dies after a long illness. The 9/11 attacks sparkle a reign of fear and terror. Damien's emotions emerge and initiate travels through the Americas and Southeast Asia. Finally Damien has become a wanted man, no longer a robot. I found it difficult to read and concentrate on the actual storyline, so be warned.… (mehr)