Review: But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past

But What If We're Wrong?: Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is like the best drunken bar conversation you've ever had.

You know exactly what I mean by that, because we've all had it. On our third (or eighth) beer, we start waxing philosophical about books or movies or what we ate for dinner, and it feels profound in the moment even though it's not at all. And those conversations are the best! Why? They get you thinking outside the box a little bit, and every so often you get that pearl of wisdom that you hang onto.

Chuck Klosterman has always been great at putting forth really solid, thought-provoking discussions and arguments about the culture around us. But What If We're Wrong, though, feels like a step further, where it becomes more a discussion about the place of culture and how we're responding to it, and it feels both ridiculous and deep, essential and arbitrary, and ultimately, a book I didn't feel like I wanted to put down at any point. And only Klosterman could really pull this off, as well, because there's just so much here that requires us to accept his authority as what it is.

I can't overstate how much I loved this. Maybe I'm putting too much meaning into it, but every time I finished a section or chapter, I felt like I got a better appreciation for the topic whether I agreed or not. And nonfiction should be like that. It should make us think a little more, especially when the topic is one of modern and present culture, and especially when the common consensus in so many circles is how disposable it is. I call this a must read for everyone, but we can say that about a lot of Klosterman's work. Ultimately, though, this is a really timely read that's worth the investment. Hopefully, you won't think I'm wrong...

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