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No One You Know: Strangers and The Stories We Tell
During a lonely and difficult year, author Jason Schwartzman began allowing regular, everyday interactions with strangers to escalate. In NO ONE YOU KNOW, Schwartzman compiles dozens of these encounters and deftly reveals the kinship he finds there, ultimately reconsidering what it means to know someone. From taxi dispatchers to aquarium attendants, drifters to neighbors, exes to siblings, Schwartzman captures the space between people, meticulously distilling the turning point when strangers become intimates. Heartbreaking, insightful, and often profoundly funny, NO ONE YOU KNOW revels in connections, examining how we make ourselves known. A rich and beautiful debut.
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Published May 4, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 29, 2021
This collection is smart, observant, brave, and exquisitely constructed. I read it in one sitting, and then sat down again to read more slowly, marking themes, favorite lines and skillful craft moves. Each vignette is vivid and complete, yet the collection has a sense of movement, as each chapter adds another layer of depth as we contemplate with Schwartzman how we craft an identity, tell the stories of our lives, and try (sometimes gracefully, usually awkwardly) to bridge the often lonely spaces between us. Great models for those who teach memoir, essay, and flash fiction and nonfiction.
August 22, 2021
I read Jason’s book right when the pandemic restrictions were being lifted this summer, and it turned out to be the perfect moment to pick it up, as the vignettes encapsulate how much of our selves are shaped through our encounters with others; even others we won’t ever know.
The book got me thinking of all the small big losses of the last year: seeing someone on the subway reading a book I love; eavesdropping into other people’s conversations in a crowded restaurant; sharing a crowd laugh at the movies. And it got me thinking how one way to seize back this lost time is to take one more step, like Jason has done, and dive deeper into these encounters when the opportunity arises.
That this book literally could not have been written over this past year of isolation makes it all the more special.
The book got me thinking of all the small big losses of the last year: seeing someone on the subway reading a book I love; eavesdropping into other people’s conversations in a crowded restaurant; sharing a crowd laugh at the movies. And it got me thinking how one way to seize back this lost time is to take one more step, like Jason has done, and dive deeper into these encounters when the opportunity arises.
That this book literally could not have been written over this past year of isolation makes it all the more special.
October 13, 2022
I will start with I am his cousin so you can assume I will be bias but if you knew me you would know I keep it real just like I’m starting out my review by admitting I am family. I never read and decided to read Jason’s debut book and I couldn’t put the book down and read it in one sitting. I laughed and smiled to myself and was relieved I wasn’t in public looking like a crazy person and wanted to learn more about these fascinating people who were so well described by the author. I felt as if I was standing right next to Jason as he was talking to these people. The book put me in a great positive mood and made me want to read more books. If this book doesn’t do the same thing for you I’ll refund your money because I guarantee you will enjoy it. This man is talented and needs to publish his next book. So proud to call him my cousin and forever have him in my life.
September 29, 2022
Stunning little book.
June 22, 2021
I will admit, I was fully prepared to give this book 5 stars because I know the author and reviews are life.
But Schwartzman upended my expectations and penned an at-times achingly sad collection of vignettes which perfectly encapsulates the sometimes awkward, often lonely pit-of-the-stomach reaction which accompanies interactions with strangers.
Beautifully written, beautifully told. Well done.
But Schwartzman upended my expectations and penned an at-times achingly sad collection of vignettes which perfectly encapsulates the sometimes awkward, often lonely pit-of-the-stomach reaction which accompanies interactions with strangers.
Beautifully written, beautifully told. Well done.
June 10, 2021
So tender! This is a book that allows us to laugh at ourselves. It's keenly observant and beautifully written. No extra words and so many turns of phrases that are delightful without sounding pleased with itself. I loved it.
June 7, 2021
I loved it. A perfect, intimate read. Schwartzman is vulnerable and witty in his nuanced study of what it means to know and be known by the people around us. The pace is quick, and the chapters are short and satisfying —be careful you might gobble this one up in one sitting!!! Highly recommend.
August 26, 2021
Having finished No One You Know, I am having trouble capturing the essence of the book in a succinct way. It’s said that clarity in brevity is a sign of a sharp, quick witted story-teller, a gift which Mr. Schwartzman has in abundance. After a night out with friends, conversations with a stranger on a bus or in these pandemic days, catching up over Zoom, we are sometimes fortunate enough to be left with a feeling that something meaningful has transpired, that we have bonded and grown in new ways and are the better for it. Yet, if pressed, few of us could put our finger on why – on what occurred that left us feeling this way.
In No One You Know, Jason is able to pick up on these little things that stay with us from interactions with those who fill our world. The way the books weaves together these moments in time allows the author to explore how self perception shifts based not only on who we are interacting with but who we have interacted with. Simply by recollection, No One You Know untangles how our memories shape us and how fleeting moments with others create their perceptions of us.
By looking at snippets over a lifetime, Schwartzman explores how we are new versions of ourselves to each acquaintance we make – how a PA on a film may not perceive you as a writer and, how children in a new environment may not perceive you as a timid risk taker, though we think of ourselves that way. I remember going on dates, having similar conversations over and over again and wishing these people knew me – my background, my tastes, my skills, my humor. But instead in life we are forced to divulge ourselves anew each time and, while the fundamental may stay the same for us, we are a different person each time, a self being molded by the continuous game of telephone that is life.
In No One You Know, Jason is able to pick up on these little things that stay with us from interactions with those who fill our world. The way the books weaves together these moments in time allows the author to explore how self perception shifts based not only on who we are interacting with but who we have interacted with. Simply by recollection, No One You Know untangles how our memories shape us and how fleeting moments with others create their perceptions of us.
By looking at snippets over a lifetime, Schwartzman explores how we are new versions of ourselves to each acquaintance we make – how a PA on a film may not perceive you as a writer and, how children in a new environment may not perceive you as a timid risk taker, though we think of ourselves that way. I remember going on dates, having similar conversations over and over again and wishing these people knew me – my background, my tastes, my skills, my humor. But instead in life we are forced to divulge ourselves anew each time and, while the fundamental may stay the same for us, we are a different person each time, a self being molded by the continuous game of telephone that is life.
August 17, 2021
I ordered this thinking it was the memoir of the actor in all the Wes Anderson movies, but it's NOT AT ALL. Turned out I'd gotten a book of short stories about a different Jason Schwartzman's encounters with random strangers, and I was surprised to find that I loved it. It's hard to capture in a review, but imagine your most observant friend describing an old man he met on the train, or a sad aspiring actress on the bus, or the twists of becoming friends with a delusional gambler.
In the same way that describing Seinfeld as a show about "Nothing" doesn't really do it justice, neither will my surface description of "No One You Know." There's so many different facets of humanity in the stories, it almost made me wish I spent less time reading on trains and more time talking to the person next to me. But then I'd botch the retelling or get bored by the conversation, so I'm glad somebody else wrote about them. I'm still waiting for the real Jason Schwartzman's memoir, but I'm looking forward to this one's next book even more. Maybe Wes Anderson can make a movie out of it.
In the same way that describing Seinfeld as a show about "Nothing" doesn't really do it justice, neither will my surface description of "No One You Know." There's so many different facets of humanity in the stories, it almost made me wish I spent less time reading on trains and more time talking to the person next to me. But then I'd botch the retelling or get bored by the conversation, so I'm glad somebody else wrote about them. I'm still waiting for the real Jason Schwartzman's memoir, but I'm looking forward to this one's next book even more. Maybe Wes Anderson can make a movie out of it.
May 12, 2021
Humorous and earnest, a great read about the wonder, hilarity, and awkwardness of human interactions and what it means to get to know someone and the many faces we all wear. Salinger's Nine Stories, but with a thread of human interaction between strangers binding the stories together. A perfect book given the lack of recent human interaction!
February 10, 2022
This book breaks some rules, and that's all to the good. It doesn't tell a long story in a linear form, nor are these short stories joined at the hip. Rather, "No One You Know" is simply a conversation -- and like most conversations, it refuses to be confined by any literary conventions. Nevertheless, it is often intriguing, sometimes fascinating, and even riveting. Schwartzman has managed to keep his narrative relevant in two places -- these are things that he experienced, but they are also events and people to which most of us can relate. A lot of the stories feel unfinished, but that's what random interactions are like in real life. Best of all, the author doesn't come down on us with a heavy-handed moral conclusions, yet still conveys a hopeful message..
December 10, 2021
Looking at our world through Jason Schwartzman's curious and compassionate gaze was an enriching departure from my own stagnant perspective. You know that poignant feeling you get from finishing a novel because you hate to leave the characters to whom you've become attached? Pick up "No One You Know" if you'd like to feel it twelve times an hour.
June 7, 2021
I will admit to a slight (okay, massive!) home team bias, but I love this book about strangers and what it means to know someone. Told through a series of uncanny and intense encounters, it's got surprising disclosures, humorous misunderstandings, jolts of connection, conversations that go off the rails, riddles of identity, and plenty of jagged memories. Hope you give it a shot!
August 17, 2021
I ordered this thinking it was the memoir of the actor in all the Wes Anderson movies, but it's NOT AT ALL. Turned out I'd gotten a book of short stories about a different Jason Schwartzman's encounters with random strangers, and I was surprised to find that I loved it. It's hard to capture in a review, but imagine your most observant friend describing an old man he met on the train, or a sad aspiring actress on the bus, or the twists of becoming friends with a delusional gambler.
In the same way that describing Seinfeld as a show about "Nothing" doesn't really do it justice, neither will my surface description of "No One You Know." There's so many different facets of humanity in the stories, it almost made me wish I spent less time reading on trains and more time talking to the person next to me. But then I'd botch the retelling or get bored by the conversation, so I'm glad somebody else wrote about them. I'm still waiting for the real Jason Schwartzman's memoir, but I'm looking forward to this one's next book even more. Maybe Wes Anderson can make a movie out of it.
In the same way that describing Seinfeld as a show about "Nothing" doesn't really do it justice, neither will my surface description of "No One You Know." There's so many different facets of humanity in the stories, it almost made me wish I spent less time reading on trains and more time talking to the person next to me. But then I'd botch the retelling or get bored by the conversation, so I'm glad somebody else wrote about them. I'm still waiting for the real Jason Schwartzman's memoir, but I'm looking forward to this one's next book even more. Maybe Wes Anderson can make a movie out of it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews