I've admired the way Teju Cole writes since I stumbled upon his novel 'Open City', and I was intrigued to read some non-fiction from him...I was not disappointed!
I read every essay with enthusiasm despite sometimes having no prior knowledge of the subject, or no firm grasp on his existential philosophies.
The majority of the essays focus on photography (Cole is clearly an aficionado), my favourites concerning such topics as; conflict photography, photography and the civil rights movement, photography as an archival art and photographs as memorials.
Another heavy weight of essays were given to travel writing - there were some amazing descriptions of not only the physicality of Switzerland, Brazil, Nigeria, Italy and more, but also the feeling of being in that place. For example, the essays that were written about visits to the UK somehow FELT like it feels to be here. I hope that makes sense - in short, Cole has a wonderful gift for settings.
Very enjoyable and enlightening collection.

Cole is a master of his craft. These essays are constructed so well, they never were too long, they were never too short, and his conclusions. Goodness! His conclusions were so inspired-beautifully encapsulating the essay with a wry prose. This is a book of sort of erudite reviews, Cole discusses works of art, writing, film, etc as they affect him personally while also connecting them to broader themes of politics and society.

An impressive collection of elegantly written essays!

I have read a couple of fiction books by Teju Cole and was interesting in reading his essay collection to see if his nonfiction writing would shed light on his fiction writing. Not only did I gain a new appreciation for his fiction writing but was treated to a thoughtful contemplative journey of timely and informative issues.

While this enthralling collection covers a diverse range of subjects it is the sincere honesty in the writing that had me in a thoughtful mood after each essay. I highly recommend this collection to readers looking for an intelligent thought-provoking read