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2:12 a.m.: Essays
Gold Medal, Independent Publishers (IPPY) Foreword Reviews Book of the Year finalist
2:12 a.m . is an insomniac's tour of counterproductive bedtime stories, Vegas weddings, Southern funerals, Nevada's nuclear testing grounds, Patty Hearst, Marina Oswald, sleepwalking murderers, Louise Bourgeois's Insomnia Drawings and more, revealing what wakeful nights conjure for a North Carolinian turned Californian, a farm child turned suburbanite, a 1960s romantic turned fatalist and a once-but-no-longer "gifted" sleeper.
The collection, comprised of Best American Essays notables, Pushcart Prize nominees and the winner of Drunken Boat 's Editors' Choice nonfiction award, mixes the strictly autobiographical with voice-driven reportage and includes essays that are factual, meditative, investigatory and lyrical to take full advantage of the versatility of the form. 2:12 a.m . is a book for all who revisit the past and brood on the future―a book about the dislocations of contemporary life, the hauntings of memory, and the perennial search, late night or otherwise, for meaning in existence.
2:12 a.m . is an insomniac's tour of counterproductive bedtime stories, Vegas weddings, Southern funerals, Nevada's nuclear testing grounds, Patty Hearst, Marina Oswald, sleepwalking murderers, Louise Bourgeois's Insomnia Drawings and more, revealing what wakeful nights conjure for a North Carolinian turned Californian, a farm child turned suburbanite, a 1960s romantic turned fatalist and a once-but-no-longer "gifted" sleeper.
The collection, comprised of Best American Essays notables, Pushcart Prize nominees and the winner of Drunken Boat 's Editors' Choice nonfiction award, mixes the strictly autobiographical with voice-driven reportage and includes essays that are factual, meditative, investigatory and lyrical to take full advantage of the versatility of the form. 2:12 a.m . is a book for all who revisit the past and brood on the future―a book about the dislocations of contemporary life, the hauntings of memory, and the perennial search, late night or otherwise, for meaning in existence.
170 pages, Paperback
First published July 23, 2013
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November 13, 2014
With the end of the first paragraph Meads sums up the tone of the essays to follow, “But who can trust memory any more than fairy tales?” Kat Meads is a funny and talented writer and all around artful storyteller. She is able to bring to the page an interesting and yet heartfelt look into the crazy night adventures of a chronic insomniac that seem crazy to those who inhabit the world of the day. A sweeping and engaging narrative that travels the world and takes the reader from Las Vegas to North Carolina to California and many other adventures. Meads is able to capture the humorous and witty side of life, such as trying to procure a wedding license in Vegas, to the recounting of all the beds she has ever slept in. Thought-provoking and exciting, 2:12 am is able to explore crazy life situations with a perfect balance of fun, wit, and style.
Review By Kate Cook
Review By Kate Cook
Displaying 1 of 1 review