The Best American Essays 2023

In this solid entry in the long-running anthology series, editor Gornick (Taking a Long Look) brings together pieces that share the “strong, clear sound of a narrating voice that, in and of itself, is the organizing principle behind the essay.” Reflecting Gornick’s background as a memoirist and critic, the selections largely consist of personal narratives and cultural commentary. In the former camp, standouts include Eric Borsuk’s “Bidders of the Din,” which traces the author’s efforts to find “purpose” and “redemption” by writing a memoir during his seven-year stint in federal prison for stealing rare manuscripts from a university library, and Merrill Joan Gerber’s masterful “Revelation at the Food Bank,” about the indignities of aging and the small resentments that accumulated over her 62 years of marriage to her husband. In the latter category, Kathryn Schulz’s discerning analysis of James Salten’s novel Bambi studies how the Disney adaptation softened the original’s vision of life as a brutal dog-eat-dog competition for survival, and Phillip Lopate’s critique of the haughty intellectuals represented in a 1960 Partisan Review issue lambasts the snobbish tone of such writers as Lionel Abel, Leslie Fiedler, and Richard Wollheim. It’s an eclectic, accomplished collection rich in variety and talent. (Oct.)