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The Unspeakable

and Other Subjects of Discussion
manoush
Mar 31, 2015
Pretty tame fare for such a bold title. Daum's essays range from the forgettable to the cutesy to the gossipy. The strongest essay is the book's first, a portrait of her mother and grandmother that's affecting and intense. But none of the essays live up to the author's claim in the introduction that she's a fearless truth-teller who says openly what others sugarcoat. Nothing in these pages is particularly bold or outlandish or transgressive. It's all very much in step with the current cultural themes of middle-aged angst, ranting about pet peeves, and claiming for oneself more originality and iconoclasm than one's writing actually delivers.