What they're saying

“In David Benjamin’s essays, the reader is as likely to encounter characters from J. D. Salinger or Emile Zola or Fyodor Dostoevsky as scenes from Edward Hoagland or Philip Lopate. An essay by Benjamin begins as a journey from a known place—a small town in the Upper Midwest, say, or Paris or Tokyo or Brooklyn—to a destination that is always surprising. At the same time Benjamin’s personal journey starts with a working-class childhood in Wisconsin and—no matter how far the author roams—seems always to circle back to that beginning, to view the world from that platform. No matter the subject—memoir, politics, culture—David Benjamin observes it all with the keen eye of an H. L. Mencken musing on the life around him.”

— Poet Stephen Bluestone, author of The Painted Clock

 

“David Benjamin is smart, funny and completely unconstrained by the pieties that burden most other writers who deal with ‘serious’ themes. Benjamin is willing to poke fun at whatever seems ridiculous, no matter what ‘culture’ it is part of. His writing [is] great fun to read.”

— James Fallows, The Atlantic

 

“Benjamin’s Mess is a robust and sharply observed collection of essays that captures the chaos, beauty, and absurdity of American life with unflinching wit and warmth. Whether recounting a boyhood moment in the Midwest or skewering contemporary media and bureaucracy, Benjamin writes with a distinctive voice that’s equal parts curmudgeonly, compassionate, and cutting. His prose brims with literary intelligence and emotional honesty, offering readers both laughter and pause. Author David Benjamin has a naturally warm way of writing that draws you in, and he's a storytelling master of the short-form essay. It’s rare to find writing that feels this confident, conversational, and enduringly relevant, especially about such a broad range of subjects and themes. I found myself underlining lines for their humor, then stopping to reflect on the deeper truths beneath the jokes. His Midwestern roots give the collection its grounding, but his range of cultural, political, and philosophical ideas is what gives the collection its wings. These essays are more than observations, sparking off like mini-masterpieces of insight and personality that I could easily see being shared at groups, lectures, and classroom discussions. Benjamin’s Mess is a joyful, intelligent, and biting contribution to modern commentary that I highly recommend to any non-fiction fans looking for a book to dip into, linger over, and return to again and again.

— K.C. Finn, Readers’ Favorite (5 stars)

 

“More Thurber than Mencken, and with a touch of Dave Barry, David Benjamin hasn’t found a topic he’s unwilling to discuss, embroider, or elevate. It’s in the details that Benjamin’s prose grabs you, making you know he’s been there, done that, and wondered, a lot, about it. And he’s good at dramatizing the dramatic, always in smart sentences and carefully chosen words.”

— Douglas E. Pearson, Professor Emeritus. U. of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

 

“David Benjamin is among the most astute essayists in contemporary letters. His anchors are kindness and a gentle humor that only sharpens his commentary … [He] can write about anything, including technology, something that touches all our lives every day and which few other writers can even conceive how to tackle.”

— Brian Santo, Content Director, Publitek