This was a good variety of essays, but none were particularly memorable or really stood out from the others.

Another installment in the Best American Essays series, this one edited by Vivian Gornick. The pieces here are quite eclectic and generally well-written. It is difficult to characterize a common thread, although my impression is that most of the pieces explore various aspects of self-development and discovery, as is perhaps typical of a certain genre of essays. The concerns addressed are more universal and not tied to contemporary events as such, although history does play a role in some of the works. That said, I did not note any particularly striking insights or reframings. Overall, worth a read but I wasn't left with anything memorable.

The Best American Essay series is one of my can't-miss favorites. It's always interesting to see which essays the guest editors favor, and this year's guest editor, Vivian Gornick, did not disappoint. Gornick chose essays with a strong, clear, narrative voice, the "persona," with a great variety of subject matter exploring the nuances of the human spirit and resilience. This edition is also Robert Atwan's last as editor, and he's had a great run. As always, one of my favorite parts of BAE is perusing the Notables section - so many essayists and their essays to admire and add to my reading list Thank you to. #netgalley, #marinerbooks and #harpercollins for the eARC.

Excellent selection of essays. The review of this title will be published in upcoming issue of Library Journal

Have you ever watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, hoping to see an elusive green flash as the sun slips into the water’s horizon? It is simultaneously painful and beautiful. Your eyes hurt from the sun’s glare, but you keep watching because you want to witness something beautiful. Reading this essay collection is like that—you are witnessing pain and beauty fused.

This year’s edition, The Best American Essays 2023, is edited by Vivian Gornick, an immensely talented memoirist, journalist and essayist with a deep understanding and appreciation for expressing the human condition. If you’re not a nonfiction writer, you might not know what a big deal it is that Vivian Gornick is the guest editor. I’ll try to explain. If Lee Gutkind is the godfather of creative nonfiction writing, then Vivian Gornick is the godmother. Her book on writing personal narrative, The Situation and the Story (2001) instructs and informs every nonfiction writer I’ve met. Her memoir Fierce Attachments (1987) was a brutally honest journey of self-discovery framed by her relationship with her mother. The things she despised in her mother were the very things that formed who she became. That feeling of contradiction is present in many of the essays Gornick selected for this year’s essay collection.

Gornick said she chose essays with real, honest voices. These stories are intimate stories of human suffering and survival. They push against pain while seeking understanding of the world in which we live.

Ciara Alfaro’s “When We Were Boys” addresses familial relationships and the dangers of being female in a voice that reminds me of Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine. Jill Barnet’s “Any Kind of Leaving” explores the meaning of care and love while being raised by flawed humans with a limited capacity to express feelings. Angelique Stevens “Care Credit” examines the ongoing burden of her childhood spent in roach-infested apartments with little to no medical or dental care.

Eric Borsuk’s “Bidders of the Din” is a story of surviving incarceration, including a horribly unfair time in solitary confinement. Kathryn Schulz’s “Eat Prey Love” delves into the horror of Bambi and the lessons in its allegory. Sylvia Baumgartel’s “Fat Man and Little Boy” is a timely essay about Los Alamos, Oppenheimer and atomic bombs.

Each year a different guest editor creates the collection from submitted essays published in literary periodicals that year. This is the last edition that series editor Robert Atwan will edit. He began editing The Best American Essays collection in 1985 and will pass the reins to Kim Dana Kupperman.

The fact that this collection of 21 essays has been curated by Vivian Gornick should be reason enough to read it. Gornick knows great writing. The fact that the essays are expertly crafted will make you want to re-read them.

Thank you #netgalley , #marinerbooks and #harpercollins for an ACR of The Best American Essays 2023.

NETGALLEY REVIEW | The Best American Essays 2023 edited by Vivian Gornick

⭐️ Rating: 3/5
🏷️ Genre: nonfiction, essays
📝 Review: Overall I would say this was an adequately diverse grouping of essays. It ranged from personal accounts of grief, learning, and discovery to what I consider to be “scholarly” essays on other works of writing. It was very heavy handed on grief - not a whole lot of lightheartedness or hopefulness in this set. But with grief is the beauty of shared experience and the beautiful discovery of knowing that other people share your thoughts and fears. The personal essays were by far my favorite; I mostly skimmed through the intellectually-meaty ones. The editor did a great job with the ebb and flow of the essays, as well.
✔️ Final Thoughts: Some of my personal favorites were “Revelation at the Food Bank,” “Siri Tells a Joke,” “Care Credit,” and “The Americas They Left Me.” Like I said, grief was a trending topic of this anthology and I could have done with a little more hopefulness.
📚 Recommending: Yes, but don’t feel bad about skipping around and/or skimming the ones that aren’t your cup of tea in the first few pages.