Book Review: Attention: Dispatches from a Land of Distraction by Joshua Cohen

OK, I’ve been trying – and trying – but cannot grasp the purpose of this book, or find the energy to continue to read it. Ironic, considering the title/subject matter I know, but I can’t help it. I’ve more than given it the ol’ college try…

The concept is great, and there are moments of brilliance. BUT… (and yes, that’s a BIG “but”) The execution and organization are all over the place with this one. A vast majority of it feels like a political rant/ramble – in many ways, redolent of another one I had difficulty with recently, Fake by Kati Stevens. This new genre of “rant non-fiction” seems to be sprouting up under the guise of cultural criticism. Call me old-fashioned, but give me a good Chuck Klosterman anyday…

Yes, Trump is a problem. Yes, current sociopolitical and popular culture are in tatters, as are attention spans, logical consistency, information overload without any sense of context or validity, intellectual endeavors and interests, and a general sense of goodness, kindness, and optimism. I agree with all of those things. But I can’t listen to one more rambling rant about them, because they all sound the same. And they all sound the same because so many of us agree on the problem(s). I get it, I do – but I am getting extra weary of the focus on how bad it is without any attempts at coming up with solutions or adaptation ideas or survival strategies…

I found this book difficult to read. There are chapter-long presentations on things like the decline of Atlantic City and the rise and fall of Ringling Brothers circus, interspersed with truly random and (to me) largely indecipherable “From the Diaries” anecdotes. While the AC and circus bits were interesting enough, I don’t see what on earth they have to do with the challenges in maintaining attentiveness in an increasingly data-glutted and attention-deficit culture. The book felt random and all over the place, like a rant from a favorite uncle or old schoolteacher. You may like him and find him generally sympathetic and similarly opinionated as you. His stories may be interesting and insightful. But you still tend to veer off with a nervous laugh and wave at an imaginary friend across the room after a while, because there’s only so much tangential story-telling you can take in one sitting…

My review copy was provided by NetGalley.