Based on Chuck Klosterman’s last two books, he thinks of himself as something of a villain. In his novel The Visible Man, his protagonist used invisibility to spy on people, which is a little bit weird. In his new book, I Wear the Black Hat, he considers himself a villain for some reason, but I was never quite sure why. His definition of villainy is a person who “knows more, but cares less.” How Klosterman fits into this paradigm is not quite clear, but that does not really affect the enjoyment of reading his latest set of essays.
To my surprise, I have become a Klosterman fan. This is despite my dislike of his article on college basketball and my initial experience with his writing. The first of Klosterman’s books that I read was Killing Yourself to Live about his road trip to sites at which famous rock stars had died. At least half of the book related to his various romantic relationships. After reading that book, I thought “Who the hell is this guy and why should I care about him?”
However, when he started appearing on the BS Report, I got a better sense of where he was coming from. I enjoyed how he used his skills as an interviewer to turn the table on Bill Simmons and make the Sports Guy examine his place in the world. His books are generally quick reads, but have enough substance to be memorable and enjoyable. His latest is no exception. I did think he conflated villainy with things that are hated, and they aren’t quite the same thing. The essay on the most hated music groups was enjoyable. Is Nickelback really so bad? They’d have to be pretty popular to get such bad press. [I just listened to a couple of their songs and I can’t say that I’d heard them before. The songs were a bit plain, but not really hate-able. I suppose if I heard them 100,000 more times, I might feel differently.]
Since Klosterman writes for Grantland, I assumed he’d delve into the sports world since it seems rife with villainy. I found it surprising that most of the hated sports figured he looked at – from Muhammad Ali to Kareem Abdul-Jabaar to Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders – were not contemporary. Perhaps the gestation period for a book will always make relevant examples seem old, but Klosterman’s examples are mostly older than he is (and I am as well).
To be honest, I was hoping that Klosterman would write about LeBron to make the book relevant to the Hoops Manifesto, but The Chosen One wasn’t even mentioned. He did write about Breaking Bad in passing, but again I was surprised that a man’s descent into villainy (in what Klosterman called the best television series ever) didn’t get more ink from the pop culture writer. I guess when people write books, they are trying to put something down that will have some lasting power. Breaking Bad may or may not have lasting power (I think it will).
LeBron (along with A-Rod) would have provided less of a history lesson than Klosterman’s examination of Joe Paterno (who was less a villain to me than a doddering old man who had been set up as a paragon of virtue), but I have never really understood why LeBron is a villain in the first place (as I mentioned in my NBA Finals Preview). One reason that has bubbled up in my mind is that LeBron moving to Miami put him in direct competition with New York and Boston, the media centers of the sports world. The Heat’s excellence has put the Celtics and Knicks into the second tier of the NBA, which is an unacceptable situation for some media people and fans.
Going back to I Wear the Black Hat, I think people who have read Klosterman’s other books will enjoy it. The book may also be a nice place for people who only know Klosterman from ESPN and Grantland to take a look at his longer essays in book form. He brings plenty of erudition and pop culture awareness to the table. When readers finish the book, they will get a new perspective on many interesting things.
Grab a copy here:
Perry Missner is a college basketball enthusiast who writes for RotoWire along with several other outlets. He welcomes your comments on Twitter at @PerryMissner or via email at [email protected]
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