Keith Gessen Blog

I get it, T. Mercer, I really do. Last year I received a Kindle as a gift from my heroic and technologically savvy Webman (who has over the years carried several suitcases containing the works of our great historical graphomaniacs to and from the Stanford library on my behalf); today I, too, am loath to carry around any book with a thickness greater than 0.36 inches—or to wait five days to read a book that God clearly intended for me to receive instantaneously at 4AM in the bath, when I really need it.

But listen, T. Mercer, have you really considered all the angles? For example: whereas a new release on Kindle costs $9.99, The Possessed now sets you back only $9.00! $9.00! What will $9.00 get you these days? An eight-piece bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken? A five-pack of Gillette Mach replacement razors? A quarter of a tank of gasoline? A regular or Kindle edition of Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang? No! None of the above! But it does get you The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them: a remarkably lightweight paperback with not only front and back cover art by Roz Chast—Roz Chast!—but also a clearly marked list price of $15.00.

Classy readers! With International Women’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Lent either just around the corner or already upon us, think of what a great gift The Possessed would make for that special someone on whom you wish to appear to have lavished $15.00!