I caught the tail end of Swimming to Cambodia many many years ago, back when I was a young'un and BRAVO was less Queer Eye and much more independent film. Never saw the rest of it, but Spalding Gray stuck in my mind forever after. When he died awhile back I figured I should find out more about him, and I finally did.Really enjoyed these monologues, although I'm sure they would have been better as spoken word pieces. They reminded me so very much of Kerouac, because they're somewhat stream of consciousness and because the personal and profound and funny and sad are all mixed up together and given the same weight. Plus perhaps the New England vibe had something to do with it, along with the amount of traveling back and forth that occurs in most of these pieces. Now I need to track down Swimming to Cambodia again and actually watch the whole thing. ( )

This is the first time that I've read any of Spalding Gray's work, though I've been meaning to do so for quite some time. (I got lucky and snatched up a few books at a local white elephant sale.) He veers wildly between unbridled optimism and sheer despair, with more of the former than the latter, surprisingly. He tells his stories with a candor that is refreshing today, when everyone seems to have something to hide. (...and yet he kept "personal" diaries/journals, too. One can only wonder about their contents.) I admit that some of these early monologues seem a bit underdeveloped, and even flat in some places. Overall though, I really appreciated the dark humor and a tone that is solely his own. I think that this was a good gateway book to the rest of his performances; it has piqued my interest, rather than dulling it. I look forward to reading and watching more. ( )

Not Spalding's best work, but it is his earliest published work. As someone who owns most of the Spalding Gray canon, I like the pieces in this collection in part to see his development as a writer and a performer.

To understand the full depth of Gray's psyche and neuroses and humor, you must have seen him perform. ( )

Meh. ( )