Book of the Week #26

State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America edited by Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey. (Ecco, an imprint of Harper Collins, 2008)

I chose this title in honor of Independence Day. Most of the time people suggest that you read something because they thought it was wonderful, that it captured some essential truth. This book, in so far as it is about New Hampshire, does not fall into that category. There is, however, value to reading something you disagree with. If only to clarify your own thinking. (Why else would so many of us read editorials diametrically opposed to our own political views?)

The idea behind this book is to "put together something broad-minded and good-hearted; something bold, intimate and funny; something full of personal anecdote and strange characters and hidden truths. What we wanted," according to Matt Weiland's preface, "was a road trip in book form." Inspired by the ideals behind the Federal Writers Project's state guides of the 1930s the editors of this volume set out to create such a road trip with the help of "out finest novelists and reporters." (p. xiii)

To describe New Hampshire, the editors chose Will Blythe, a New York writer who grew up in North Carolina and summered in Massachusetts. His writing is good, but I think he misses the spirit of the place completely. Of course, I'm not from around here either.

The chapter on New York -- Jonathan Franzen is trying to get through a barrage of handlers so he can interview the state herself -- is wonderful and very NY. Louise Erdrich, who lived for a time in New Hampshire, contributed the chapter on North Dakota.