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Living in the golden age of navel-gazing

Every other book now seems to be a collection of sad, wry, funny reflections by some sad, wry, funny columnist – and Joel Golby’s Four Stars is among the best

4 May 2024

9:00 AM

4 May 2024

9:00 AM

Four Stars: A Life Reviewed Joel Golby

Mudlark, pp.320, 16.99

If you are under 40, you probably already know of Joel Golby. He writes stream-of-consciousness personal essays and the satirical ‘Rental Opportunity of the Week’ column for Vice. For older readers, think, say, William Leith or Caitlin Moran. For even older readers, think maybe Thurber, Perelman or Dorothy Parker. And for the truly ancient, see Hazlitt?

Self-obsessed, self-vaunting, self-deprecating, self-excoriating: there is, of course, a long tradition of highly personal, witty, scratchy, sniffy essayistic writing going back to Montaigne and beyond.

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