Note Book

This essay collection from Princeton professor Nunokawa (Tame Passions of Wilde) provides an uneven but winning look at how people connect, or attempt to connect, in person and online. The essays, selected from postings Nunokawa has made using the Facebook Note app, are short and typically inspired by quotations from, among others, Virginia Woolf, George Eliot, Jean-Paul Sartre, Nunokawa’s mother, and Nunokawa himself, as well as song lyrics and dialogue from TV shows and movies. Nunokawa often discusses his mother and father, old friendships and relationships, and his impression of himself. Other selections deal with literature, looking at what it can teach us. Not every essay is successful; some are overwritten, others are insubstantial, and several are repetitive. Sometimes, the inspiration seems more meaningful than the essay it inspired. But Nunokawa’s emphasis is on process rather than product, and on continuing to attempt to connect with the reader—regardless of whether Nunokawa succeeds. The sheer number of essays—about 250—might put off some readers, but there’s a pleasure to be found in simply picking up this book and taking a chance that any given entry might hit the mark. (May)