More Curious

“More Curious begins by making you wonder what kind of book it is, exactly, and ends by reminding you that categories are nonsense when you’re enjoying something this much.”—Jennifer Egan, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Visit from the Goon Squad“Mr. Wilsey can write in a range of emotional octaves, moving from the comic to the philosophical to the streetwise with ease, while putting body language on his prose to give the reader an almost synesthetic sense of what he’s saying.”—Michiko Kakutani, New York Times“More Curious captures the dizzying absurdity of contemporary America.”—Vanity Fair“Sean Wilsey’s witty essays from his cross-country adventures form a portrait of the weird side of contemporary America.”—Los Angeles Times“When Wilsey is at his best, and he often is in More Curious, his prose has a barely contained energy that makes his work both informative and entertaining. And often, whether his subject is rats or NASA or skateboarding or soccer, that work is provocative and huge-hearted.”—Alex Lemon, Dallas Morning News“Sometimes he’s funny and self-deprecating and sometimes he’s somber; sometimes his scope is as sweeping as our country, and other times it’s as narrow as Buzz Aldrin’s taste in wristwatches. There’s one through-line from beginning to end, though: those careful, thoughtful, perfect sentences.”—Alison Hallett, Portland Mercury“Generation-defining . . . a welcome chronicle of our age.”—David Kurlander, San Francisco Bay Guardian

Table of Contents:
Introduction: IntroductionThe Republic of MarfaDo You Know What Seaweed Is?No Work for MeUsing So LittleSome of Them Can ReadThe World I Want to Live InScanning UpdikeTravels with DeathNASA ReduxAldrin’s WatchAlways Be CleaningDanny Meyer Bit His TongueThe Objects of My ObsessionMarfa, Revisited“Outro”

About the Author :
SEAN WILSEYMarfa, Texas, and Brooklyn, New YorkWilsey is the author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Oh the Glory of It All, and the coeditor, with Matt Weiland, of State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America and The Thinking Fan’s Guide

Review :
""More Curious" is the most delicious of literary smorgasbords. Whether Sean Wilsey's subject is rats, NASA, or a surreal road trip across America, the writing is animated and diverse, dappled with literary oddities and enlivened, always, by his eye for the absurd. "More Curious" begins by making you wonder what kind of book it is, exactly, and ends by reminding you that categories are nonsense when you're enjoying something this much." --Jennifer Egan "Sean Wilsey puts the fire out with wine, as he reports was done after the 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco. To douse a fire with wine, as I take it, is to respond with something unexpected, and a little extravagant, but in that moment, a tool at hand. Wilsey is playful, maximal, wonkily earnest and fun to read, as he ranges over the varied landscapes of this book." --Rachel Kushner "Mr. Wilsey can write in a range of emotional octaves, moving from the comic to the philosophical to the streetwise with ease, while putting body language on his prose to give the reader an almost synesthetic sense of what he's saying." --Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times" "Sean Wilsey's witty essays from his cross-country adventures form a portrait of the weird side of contemporary America." --"Los Angeles Times" ""More Curious" captures the dizzying absurdity of contemporary America." --"Vanity Fair" "Wilsey ("Oh the Glory of It All") makes curiosity the unifying aesthetic and raison d'etre of this eclectic collection of essays on places and people, hobbies and grief, and the 'comedy and poverty of the United States."--"Publishers Weekly" "An insightful and witty portrait of modern America's highs and lows."--"Largehearted Boy" "Wilsey is a punchy, captivating writer with a perceptive eye." --"Dallas Morning News" "A marvelous book... Wilsey has a gift for shifting gears emotionally -- changing the focus at precisely the right moment, and those shifts, those juxtapositions are effective and often profound."--"Austin American-Statesman " "Generation-defining... a welcome chronicle of our age"--"San Francisco Bay Guardian" "[C]areful, thoughtful, perfect sentences"--"Portland Mercury" "[T]he essays are a testament to Wilsey's infectious ability to make his curiosity ours" --"The Rumpus" Praise for "Oh the Glory of It All" "A memoir that announces the debut of a remarkably gifted, daring and, yes, very funny, writer." --Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times" "The cliche 'truth is stranger than fiction' may well have been coined to describe Sean Wilsey's wild, wise, and whip-smart memoir." --"Elle" "[An] irreverent and remarkably candid memoir about growing up in wealthy eighties San Francisco . . . rollicking, ruthless . . . ultimately generous-hearted." --"Vogue" "A vivid mix of brio, self-awareness and sophistication . . . writing well is indeed the best revenge." --"The New York Times Book Review" "Sean Wilsey's magnificent memoir spares no one but forgives almost everything; it's a kindly act of retribution that's sure to ring a bell with any adult survivor of parental narcissism. A bell, hell. "Oh the Glory of It All" becomes a veritable carillon of remembered pain, never once losing its wise and worldly sense of humor. I couldn't stop reading the damn thing." --Armistead Maupin "Exuberant, honest, and unforgettable. Wilsey shows that great privilege doesn't guarantee bliss, but also doesn't preclude it. I'm glad he survived this odd/epic youth and emerged from it such a sane, generous, and funny narrator. My only regret is that he's not older than he is, since there would be more to read." --George Saunders "[A] startlingly honest tale.... the writing is vivid, detailed, deep, and filled with fresh metaphors." --"Publishers Weekly (Starred review)" "Honest to a fault, richly veined with indelible images: a monumental piece of work." --"Kirkus Reviews" "Generation-defining... a welcome chronicle of our age"--"San Francisco Bay Guardian" "Enjoyable, occasionally hilarious, and always insightful." --"Fiction Advocate" "A funny, touching, and smart look at the core of Americana." --"Vol. 1 Brooklyn" "A propulsive collection of essays ... Wilsey's voice is peripatetic, inquisitive and one of a kind." --one of the Strand's Booksellers' "Most Loved in 2014" Praise for "Oh the Glory of It All" "A memoir that announces the debut of a remarkably gifted, daring and, yes, very funny, writer." --Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times" "The cliche 'truth is stranger than fiction' may well have been coined to describe Sean Wilsey's wild, wise, and whip-smart memoir." --"Elle" "[An] irreverent and remarkably candid memoir about growing up in wealthy eighties San Francisco . . . rollicking, ruthless . . . ultimately generous-hearted." --"Vogue" "A vivid mix of brio, self-awareness and sophistication . . . writing well is indeed the best revenge." --"The New York Times Book Review" "Sean Wilsey's magnificent memoir spares no one but forgives almost everything; it's a kindly act of retribution that's sure to ring a bell with any adult survivor of parental narcissism. A bell, hell. "Oh the Glory of It All" becomes a veritable carillon of remembered pain, never once losing its wise and worldly sense of humor. I couldn't stop reading the damn thing." --"Armistead Maupin" "Exuberant, honest, and unforgettable. Wilsey shows that great privilege doesn't guarantee bliss, but also doesn't preclude it. I'm glad he survived this odd/epic youth and emerged from it such a sane, generous, and funny narrator. My only regret is that he's not older than he is, since there would be more to read." --George Saunders "[A] startlingly honest tale.... the writing is vivid, detailed, deep, and filled with fresh metaphors." --"Publishers Weekly (Starred review)" "Honest to a fault, richly veined with indelible images: a monumental piece of work." --"Kirkus Reviews"