At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays

published	2007 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0374106622 (isbn13: 9780374106621)
pages	240
description	In At Large and At Small, Anne Fadiman returns to one of her favorite genres, the familiar essay—a beloved and hallowed literary traditio...more [close] In At Large and At Small, Anne Fadiman returns to one of her favorite genres, the familiar essay—a beloved and hallowed literary tradition recognized for both its intellectual breadth and its miniaturist focus on everyday experiences. With the combination of humor and erudition that has distinguished her as one of our finest essayists, Fadiman draws us into twelve of her personal obsessions: from her slightly sinister childhood enthusiasm for catching butterflies to her monumental crush on Charles Lamb, from her wistfulness for the days of letter-writing to the challenges and rewards of moving from the city to the country. Many of these essays were composed “under the influence” of the subject at hand. Fadiman ingests a shocking amount of ice cream and divulges her passion for Häagen-Dazs Chocolate Chocolate Chip and her brother’s homemade Liquid Nitrogen Kahlúa Coffee (recipe included); she sustains a terrific caffeine buzz while recounting Balzac’s coffee addiction; and she stays up till dawn to write about being a night owl, examining the rhythms of our circadian clocks and sharing such insomnia cures as her father’s nocturnal word games and Lewis Carroll’s mathematical puzzles. At Large and At Small is a brilliant and delightful collection of essays that harkens a revival of a long-cherished genre. [close]
date added	02-15-07 edit book

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Ginnie rated it:

01/27/08

bookshelves: essays

This book made me smarter. Really, it did.
In this collection of essays (available originally in The American Scholar plus one from The New Yorker, but nestled together with great mutual congeniality in this book), Fadiman begins with her own confessed interests and obsessions--Charles Lamb and Coleridge, ice cream and coffee, arctic exploration and mail delivery, mounting butterflies and flying the flag--and traces a patient, curious path through all sorts of trackless wilderne...more This book made me smarter. Really, it did.
In this collection of essays (available originally in The American Scholar plus one from The New Yorker, but nestled together with great mutual congeniality in this book), Fadiman begins with her own confessed interests and obsessions--Charles Lamb and Coleridge, ice cream and coffee, arctic exploration and mail delivery, mounting butterflies and flying the flag--and traces a patient, curious path through all sorts of trackless wildernesses (ancient literature, Romantic poetry, familiar essays and out-of-print tomes) to piece together observations that are quietly illuminating not just of the subject matter but the ways Fadiman--quietly, subtly--suggests that books are to read, loves are to be cherished, life is to be lived. The clarity and precision of her prose are breath-taking; readers would never guess that Fadiman's process could entail, as she reveals in one essay, moving paragraphs about in the manner that a pet hamster transports food from one side of his cage to the other. Surprising, rewarding, and deeply interesting, this book is a necessary addition not just to your library but your experience, as it will make you want to read more widely, look more closely, and think more deeply about things, just as Fadiman does.

The essay titled Procrustes and the Culture Wars which she delivered as the Phi Beta Kappa oration on the 160th anniversary of Emerson's speech, The American Scholar spoke so eloquently to the question of whether we should kick authors out of the canon and to the curb if they offend our current sensibilities that I tried to find it online to post to a friend (Paul) who has been yelling about Eliot's anti-Semitism. She includes an irate screed from a feminist that The Odyssey is misogynistic, another that Huck Finn doesn't behave as we think he should and besides he uses the N-word and Herman Melville was a wife beater. Terrific and thought provoking essay. So, Paul, you'll have to get ahold of this book on your own.

Library Journal
In her wonderful and aptly titled second essay collection (after Ex Libris), Fadiman explains the categorization of "familiar essay" as being equal parts heart and brain; familiar essays are subjective, yet they have larger implications. Accordingly, her topics range from collecting butterflies to being a night owl, from the progression within letter writing to the significance of the flag. Besides pondering those subjects, Fadiman also aims to set the record straight on, e.g., the true natures of essayist Charles Lamb, poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson. The pieces are arranged chronologically, and the more recent ones are the most successful (some of the earlier essays are too erudite and obscure in their references). Although Fadiman is overly fond of long lists, the later essays hold your interest as she reveals little-known facts and challenges your thinking. ...less

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Trin rated it:

09/23/07

bookshelves: essays

Read in September, 2007

So, last week I went out for sushi with my parents. I had just read the essay from this collection where Fadiman talks about being a night owl; my mom is a major night owl, so, thinking she'd appreciate it, I recommended the book to her. Turns out she knows Fadiman: they went to Harvard together, lived in Dunster House together, used to fly back on the same planes from Boston to where they lived in L.A. My mom wrinkled her nose as she told me this. She and Anne were not bestest buddies, a...more

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