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Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away
Why can’t we look away?
Whether we admit it or not, we’re fascinated by evil. Dark fantasies, morbid curiosities, Schadenfreude: As conventional wisdom has it, these are the symptoms of our wicked side, and we succumb to them at our own peril. But we’re still compelled to look whenever we pass a grisly accident on the highway, and there’s no slaking our thirst for gory ente...more
Whether we admit it or not, we’re fascinated by evil. Dark fantasies, morbid curiosities, Schadenfreude: As conventional wisdom has it, these are the symptoms of our wicked side, and we succumb to them at our own peril. But we’re still compelled to look whenever we pass a grisly accident on the highway, and there’s no slaking our thirst for gory ente...more
Hardcover, 213 pages
Published
February 14th 2012
by Sarah Crichton Books
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Like many people, author Eric Wilson likes to tap into his dark side, or as Jung believed, his shadow side: the side that encompasses many of the aspects of ourselves we like least, and which we often try to secret away from others. In "Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck: Why We Can't Look Away," Wilson, a Gothic literature professor, attempts to shed light on why people rubberneck at traffic accidents, love horror films, enjoy a perverse thrill at the downfall of others, engage in risky physical...more
I really expected more out of this book, according to the blurb on the inside cover "Eric G. Wilson sets out to discover the source of our attraction to the caustic, drawing on the findings of biologists, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, philosophers, theologians, and artists." Sounds intriguing right? Well, although the author brings up a few theories for why people are attracted to the macabre, in my opinion he doesn't do a good job defending or supporting any of them. He is conte...more
Rich subject matter: why do we enjoy horror and the macabre? This book raises the question from different angles, in different permutations, and is a good spur for discussion. However, it is a slight book, content to raise questions and examples without offering fresh insight. I find the author's voice irritating; many of his arguments rest on the premise "we all feel this way in response to such-and-such stimulus," and usually I don't. I'd relish hearing his personal experience rather than read...more
**Hard to look away**
Welcome to the dark side.
And, now meet your guide: author Eric G. Wilson, whose book _Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck_ takes us on an illuminating voyage deep into our dark side. He explores the innate morbid curiosity found within all of us (yes, all of us!), and shows how our dark side might not be so dark after all. His book supports his core belief that:
“the morbid offers illuminations brighter than the sun...Darker emotional states—doubt, confusion, alienation, desp...more
Welcome to the dark side.
And, now meet your guide: author Eric G. Wilson, whose book _Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck_ takes us on an illuminating voyage deep into our dark side. He explores the innate morbid curiosity found within all of us (yes, all of us!), and shows how our dark side might not be so dark after all. His book supports his core belief that:
“the morbid offers illuminations brighter than the sun...Darker emotional states—doubt, confusion, alienation, desp...more
This was one of those "impulse buys;" the title caught my eye. The author, Eric G. Wilson, is the Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest. His book purports to be an investigation into the source, implications, and meaning of the human "attraction to the caustic," to the morbid. It is not a scholarly/academic study, but is instead an extended essay. Wilson's approach is anecdotal. Each of the fifty chapters (over 190 pages) introduces a different aspect or dimension of our relati...more
I wanted to like this book. I learned about it in Rue Morgue Magazine (which is usually pretty astute about horror culture), so I picked it up first chance I got. However, the author is a self-obsessed prick. He is an overgrown emo kid with an English degree who is driven purely by the egotistical belief that his intelligence sets him above everyone else, especially people who scoff at or dismiss the macabre as legitimate human experiences. Which is a shame, because not everyone who digs horror...more
I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway so I feel a bit obligated to write a review. Unfortunately, it will not be a very positive review.
The author spends most of this book justifying his own interest in the macabre. This feeling of "justification" arises throughout the book, making me feel like the author is uncomfortable with himself. This type of self-assessment could be successful as a memoir, exploring the author's own bouts with bipolar disorder and his interest in horror movies, e...more
The author spends most of this book justifying his own interest in the macabre. This feeling of "justification" arises throughout the book, making me feel like the author is uncomfortable with himself. This type of self-assessment could be successful as a memoir, exploring the author's own bouts with bipolar disorder and his interest in horror movies, e...more
Everyone loves a good train wreck, except when it's this book. I picked up this book on a whim, but I couldn't force myself to finish it. The premise interested me, but I found the book to be more of a rationalization of the author's love for horror films and the macabre in general than a study of why people are drawn to the dark. To be fair, the author is open about this book being more of a collection of thoughts and essays searching to understand and perhaps rationalize his own obsession with...more
This was on the Librarian's Pick list at my local library, and pick it I did. Apparently a lot of people didn't like this so much, or didn't take the time to finish it. Too bad. It wasn't earth-shattering or anything, but it did provide ample food for thought. It is more about Wilson's own musing than any comprehensive study of morbid curiosity, but it's enough for one human being to share his experience. I especially appreciate Wilson's self-deprecation and willingness to consider the possibili...more
I saw this discussed on NPR Books and had to grab it. I'm reading it for possible inclusion in my book and paper on the mystery genre. So far so good. His other books look interesting, too.
For anyone who loves horror and has wondered why, this book is a must. I don't like horror. I don't stare at traffic accidents; I don't like to watch people fall or be hurt. And despite the fact that the mystery and spy genres are my favorite, I don't like violence or blood or gore. Yet I found this book usefu...more
For anyone who loves horror and has wondered why, this book is a must. I don't like horror. I don't stare at traffic accidents; I don't like to watch people fall or be hurt. And despite the fact that the mystery and spy genres are my favorite, I don't like violence or blood or gore. Yet I found this book usefu...more
A typical "chapter" in this book encapsulates a thought for 2-3 pages and ends with a build-up to the next "chapter". If 3 or 4 of these were combined, the work as whole would feel more substantial. Wilson focuses too much on violence in the media and less on the witnessing of actual violence. He could interviewed war veterans, victims of genocide, people who witnessed natural disasters, etc. but opts for only moderately-interesting personal anecdotes (including -oddly enough- correspondence wit...more
It's gory and gruesome. But hits Headlines and people would queue or just tune in to find out more. I suppose television companies would probably kill for something like this to happen, not that one would actually wish for it it happen, I suppose. As mentioned in the novel,...Page 69 - In our media markets, serial killers thrive. In the competition for high ratings, seirous news outlets and tablois alike must drawn on the most attentin–grabbing stories possible and lurid murrders provide eye–cat...more
The title of this book pretty much sums it up. The book asks: Why are we so fascinated by evil, death, scandal, and other dark parts of life? What does this say about human nature? To answer these questions, Wilson consults biologists, sociologists, and psychologists, and also relates stories and examples from his own experience. He shares several different theories. The traditional idea is that we all have a good side and a bad side; horror movies and gossip allow us to indulge our bad sides in...more
It's difficult to be too hard on any author with a spectacular name like Eric, but I will force myself to mention a few points. First, Eric spends a great deal of time apologizing for his urge to look at and indulge in various topics that do not really intrigue the rest of us. About that, so what? What is annoying is his constant apologizing. On the other hand, even though he makes tremendous efforts to assure us that his tendencies are not really egocentric, he seems to actually overlook the fa...more
Full disclosure: I'm one of the morbid people Wilson spoke to as he researched the book. I'm not sure he entirely knew how to take my perky goth sensibilities, but I do get a couple of paragraphs.
Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck reads like a really fascinating blog. The chapters are extremely short, only a handful of pages each, and tend to limit themselves to a single idea, although the ideas do reflect back from one chapter to the next. It makes for a quick read, which doesn't suit the depth...more
Everyone Loves a Good Train Wreck reads like a really fascinating blog. The chapters are extremely short, only a handful of pages each, and tend to limit themselves to a single idea, although the ideas do reflect back from one chapter to the next. It makes for a quick read, which doesn't suit the depth...more
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This book fails in the same way that the morbid expectation of carnage often befalls the frustrated motorist in the midst of an accident induced, miles-long traffic jam on the highway. Make no mistake; there is definitely a high body count of diverting information by the end of ‘Everyone Loves a Good…”, but the payoff may not be worth the time. The dust jacket declares the book’s intention to be a thorough examination of the human fascination with the macabre via biology, psychology, sociology…a...more
this must be why I don't go to Wake Forest. oo, catty.
a fairly interesting essay on why the author won't make excuses anymore for rubber-necking. as a reader who picked it up expecting more train wrecks . . . well, at least now I have sound psychological reasons for wanting to read about them.
somehow I don't feel any better.
a fairly interesting essay on why the author won't make excuses anymore for rubber-necking. as a reader who picked it up expecting more train wrecks . . . well, at least now I have sound psychological reasons for wanting to read about them.
somehow I don't feel any better.
This book is made up of of many very short chapters (almost like mini-essays) that contain more philosophic musings than academic/data-driven insights. It's a very light book about a very heavy topic; this isn't a bad thing, but not quite what I expected.
this book had a great topic with a qualified author to write about it- a man steeped in Gothic literature and the paralyzing, but occasionally insightful, effect of bipolar disorder. however the book was written in a disjointed manner. Wilson attempted dark humor to no avail and attempted to make every instance profound; which he actually comments on being his downfall. It wasn't terrible, but could have been much better. Something about the book just didn't do it for me.
I was very intrigued by the title and book jacket, but the writing itself was awful. Fantastic premise, but the book was dull and the author comes across as a pompous ass.
oof, tough crowd on goodreads. it was intimate and thoughtful at times, as i like them. brownie pts for the shout-out to an interesting sounding book, "oldest living confederate widow tells all."
weird philosophical pondering of our human fascination with darkness and bad things. kinda neat if you're in the mood for it.
Disappointing. Find a copy at the library and look through the notes in the back to find his research materials and then read those instead.
Disturbing but good. Interesting look at our fascination with darker things that brought up some thought provoking points.
This book was beyond disappointing. Not recommended.
Read my full review at:
http://readingatrandom.blogspot.com/2...
Read my full review at:
http://readingatrandom.blogspot.com/2...
Eric Wilson examines morbid curiosity in this quick-read. I found it posed some interesting thoughts, but nothing mind-blowing. It was very entertaining to read however, with short easily digestible chapters.
2.5 stars.
pretentious lit-professor popcorn
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Apr 18, 2012 12:10am