Boyle, Megan. Selected Unpublished Blog Posts of a Mexican Panda Express Employee.
Muumuu House. Nov. 2011. c.96p. ISBN 9780982206720. pap. $12. POETRY
This is the latest print release from Muumuu House, a small, Brooklyn-based press founded in 2008 by literary enfant terrible Tao Lin. As its tongue-in-cheek title suggests, the poetry and prose poems found here are organized by date, as if they were real-life journal entries by the author. The voice is slow and deliberate, full of mundane details and pop-culture references; the reader is privy to every thought as Boyle confronts loneliness and tries to find meaning in drugs, food, novels, and acquaintances. She holds nothing back; one of the pieces is titled “Everyone I’ve Had Sex With.” This voyeuristic view is telling of the “post-ironic” digital age, creating a portrait of someone who feels uncomfortable in daily routine and spends much of her time cultivating an online persona. ­VERDICT Only time will tell whether this press finds widespread acclaim or continues as an Internet-based cult favorite, but Boyle has a unique voice worth following. She is adept at describing ineffable everyday emotions, and much comfort can be found in her honesty. Recommended for those who enjoy personal blogs, Twitter, and confessional fiction from Lorrie Moore to Charles Bukowski. —Kate Gray, Library Journal