K M Patten has a wry wit, a dry tongue and a keen way of getting you to stop for a moment and listen to whatever the heck (%^&*) he has to say. Not for nothing, but what he has to say may very well be the most important thing you hear today, or not, but either way, it's worth a listen.
This is a collection of writings from Patten, which span several years of history of the United States, for which most of us have been present, and if not, can at least state that we are aware of. The difference is, most of us haven't been completely absorbed by the moments, and, for the most part, we've breezed through these times, not allowing them to consume our breath, or our minds, but not Patten. He has an awareness about him, that almost seems eerie. He touches on the pulse of what so many of us are thinking, but are too busy to commit too much thought to. Within the confines of prison, both literal and symbolic, Patten exposes the recesses of his ranting, raving, some could say, lunatic mind, and channels his raw thoughts from swirling incoherence to actually well written snippets of thought, during which I reluctantly found myself nodding in agreement. Let me state here that I did not want to like this book....but, for the most part, I did.
Beyond a few grammatical issues and structure inconsistencies (sorry, it's the English Major in me), this collection of seemingly unrelated and self titled "Rants, Articles, Interviews, and Essays" may just be the scratch your itch has been yearning for. It's a glimpse inside the mind of someone who wants to do more than merely bitch and moan about the state of the human race today....even if that "more" is to make others read his work. But, as we read deeper into the collection, we see that Patten does more than write; he actively participates, he protests, he contemplates, he delves into social constructs and rips them to pieces, and, while he isn't always 100% accurate (defining Billie Joe Armstrong as 'punk' made me laugh out loud), his point of view is his own, and it is more than fluff and filler.
These writings will take you on a journey through several years in the life, so to speak. From 9/11 to the elections of 2008 - 2012, from topics dissecting religion to the prison system, personal relationships and political gaffes, celebrities and world leaders, global warming, race relations, world crises, circumcision, the Occupy movement, pot,the war on drugs, beer, and general debauchery, and his kid...Patten throws it all out there. He speaks candidly, openly, almost as though you are sitting there with him, in the smoky backroom of the seedy neighborhood bar, smoking and drinking cheap beer and listening to him perform a sort of one man spoken word diatribe (without all the hipster pretension, of course). His is a voice of a living dystopia, without all the messy apocalypse stuff. It's real; it's gritty, ugly, sad, and anger inducing. It will make you think, though, to be frank, most folks don't like to think too long, so they'll breeze on by after reading....but I don't think they'll truly forget what they've read here, because Patten isn't a celebrity. He isn't a talking head on the tv screen. He's a real person, not a finely crafted persona to try to sell you some lame attempt at political commentary. I think that's what makes these writings so important, and, dare I say, necessary.
These are his words. They're worth a read. And then, when you're finished, read them again.
