Narcissus Leaves The Pool by Joseph Epstein

Narcissus Leaves The Pool Reviews

• 
  Denise Hay

  Ah, Joseph Epstein, that most elegant of writers almost from a bygone time, with his jokiness, his brio, his off-the-charts smarts, his round glasses and cable knit sweaters.
  
  Epstein helmed The American Scholar for 25 years, which I know because a) I just looked it up; and b) I was weirdly friends with this old guy who lived with his "child bride" (his words) in a house packed with furniture and books and ashtrays (the living room had two sofas, one in front of the other - it was a little bit like sitting in business class, if business class had fur bestrewn, cigarette burned seats) and he used to subscribe to the NYROB, the New Yorker, NYT Book Reviews, The American Scholar, and the Spectator, among others. He never in a million years read all these things, but he gave it the old college try. He also bought books by the truckload and didn't read most of those, either. It took him half an hour to roll one cigarette, for god's sakes. He was fabulous, but the point is, he used to send me home with bags of these things once he was done with them (or said he was done with them) ... and in short, that’s how I met Joseph Epstein.
  
  The American Scholar, for those who don’t know it, is not for the feeble-minded. Obvious as it may seem, it tends to be for scholars and the odd non-academic who has a snicker-jack mind. I do not have a membership in either of those clubs. Also, let’s keep in mind, I was inundated with this stuff, as well, once it was passed along. The only thing I felt remotely comfortable with was The New Yorker and the NYT Book Review. The NYROB reviewed books like “Unnatural Disaster: The Finer Points of Fracking” or “Emmanuel Kant: True Epistemologist or Aesthetic Dilettante?” and stuff like that there, which was just not, mmmm. The American Scholar I didn’t even pretend to be up for, intellectually. I was also 25 at the time, with not much accredited education to my name, and ... yeah. Didn’t really read any articles.
  
  But I read every essay of Epstein’s in every issue of the Scholar, and they were the most charming, accessible, erudite and witty pieces of writing I’d likely ever come across at the time. There’s something so pleasurable in reading writing that someone seems to just take so much delight in. It’s contagious. There was something kind of funny about looking forward to getting the new Scholar, so I could read his piece. If it sounds like a kid from the 60s waiting for the paper so they can grab the funnies, the analogy is pretty apt.
• 
  Martha

  I found this collection interesting, witty, occasionally profound and worth revisiting in another 20-30 years. Mr. Epstein muses about mostly light subjects (napping, name-dropping, pet peeves), squeezing the intellectual juice out of them into well-crafted essays. Meditations on aging link the pieces in the collection but so too does his opinion that most things in the U.S. – sports, music, writing, dress - have slid terribly downwards since the 1950’s. Sometimes this made me feel sorry for him but at other points his opinions struck me as needlessly fuddy-duddy. Still, I’m sure I’ll pick up another book by Epstein because while I can’t say I “really liked it”, I would say I “quite liked it”. (See p.234: Anglophilia, American Style).
• 
  Jane

  Reflections on life from a superb essayist. He's so honest and humorous and often profound. The best piece is on friendship and is entitled "My Friend Edward."
• 
  Teaghan

  A lovely little book of essays, not much that's capital-I important, yet full of insight and excellent writing. I did find it interesting that despite so many of these essays reflect on old age and nearing the end of life, Epstein has lived nearly 25 years past the publication of this book and is still writing. Perhaps there's a lesson there.
• 
  Kyle

  A pleasure to read! Notable essays: "What's in It for the Talent?" and "The Pleasures of Reading."
• 
  Harvey

  - from the jacket: "Joseph Epstein's sixth collection of personal pieces winningly and brilliantly rounds off his twenty-three-year tenure as editor of The American Scholar. "The trick with these essays," he recently wrote, "is to take what seems a small or mildly amusing subject and open it up, allow it to exfoliate, so that by the end something arises that might be larger and more intricate than anyone -- including the author -- had expected." Among the things that arise here are naps, Gershwin, ageing, name-dropping, long books, pet peeves, talent vs. genius, Anglophilia, and surgery -- the head and the heart."
  
• 
  Annabelle

  Lent by Mr. Montes (Bernie, my piano teacher). If I ever had aspirations of being a darn good writer (and who doesn't?), I would so want to write like Mr. Joseph Epstein! - This 4-star review (amended today) was written sometime before 2010, surely.
  
  Fast forward to September 5, 2016:
  I just finished rereading the book, and for his essays on the pleasures of reading, anglophilia and pet peeves, to name a few, I give it 5 stars. The book is notable for the last chapter, as here explains Mr E's friendship with the man he vocally owes so much to, his conscience, Edward Shils.
• 
  Tara

  His last essay entitled "My friend Edward" kept me up through the wee hours of the night. His friend Edward was a remarkable fellow; someone I would have liked to know. Perhaps I will meet someone akin to him later in life. However, I realized that Epstein (nor the reader) could ascertain Edward's eternal state. Epstein's gift for introspection and analysis are penetrating and helpful. After reading Narcissus, I want to read his other essays.
• 
  Greg Linster

  Mr. Epstein has become one of my favorite essayists (perhaps ever). This is a wonderful collection of essays that smack of charm, wit, and erudition, perhaps in a way that only an American can truly appreciate. Even if you've never read any of his other work, this collection is a fine place to start.
• 
  Douglas Wilson

  Really good.
• 
  Liz

  Another great book - I just love his essays.
• 
  Vivencio

  getting to like essays more these days and these ones are wry, witty and wise
• 
  Graychin

  Epstein doesn’t need me or anyone else to tell him that he’s a superb essayist. His sentences are a real pleasure, and so is his dry humor. I just wish he had more interesting things to say.
• 
  Julene

  Epstein renews my faith in the essay -- provided it's written by a well-read adult over the age of 60.
• 
  Nanaz

  A bit boring. I liked his snobbery book a lot better. This mainly seemed like on his opinions on fads, trends, people, and culture of the past.