The Unreality of Memory by Elisa Gabbert

How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What the hell is water?’”įrom historical landmark events like the sinking of Titanic, the nuclear attack to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the nuclear accident of Chernobyl, 9/11 and the Holocaust to chronic pain, hysteria and PTSD, these essays are meant to reveal the flaws of our narcissistic aspirations as society and how our fascination with tragedy ultimately prevent us from actually caring.

This reminds me of David Foster Wallace’s line in his famous 2005 commencement speech, “ There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says ‘Morning, boys. Hyperobjects are “something that is ‘massively distributed in time and space relative to humans.’” An ongoing event that is happening everywhere, all the time, being so great we are unable to comprehend it or visualize it. She tackles the topics in what The Washington Post’s review describes as a “drone’s-eye perspective.” Her panoramic view on catastrophes is rooted in the shape of “hyperobjects”- a concept she references in her essay “Big and Slow” from philosopher Timothy Morton. Gabbert’s third book of essays is an easy read about difficult subjects. The extensive research accompanied by the vulnerable anecdotal aspect gives each piece a cutting tone that exposes the collective mind’s private thoughts of despair and annoyance with our reality.

Even though these essays were written between 2016 to 2019, this book uncannily seems like a cautionary tale to the events that unfolded last year. 2020, poet and essayist Elisa Gabbert surprises readers with her honest analysis on compassion, disaster, disease, trauma and vanity - all relevant topics in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. In her last book of essays “The Unreality of Memory and Other Essays,” published in Aug.

The Unreality of Memory by Elisa Gabbert