Admittedly I began Matias’ book with a bit of skepticism. Not so much at the quality of the book but in my ability to find meaning in a series of random thoughts. To my surprise the style in which Matias has written seems to offer a much deeper look into the life of the author then any narrative or biography I have read, assuming of course the “random things” are true. It is hard to say if through this book we know the true Matias, or through anyone’s list we may know the “true” author, but I do believe there is a different truth to be spoken of. This kind of list allows the reader insight into the abstract mind of its author. Granted the list is infinitely shorter than the amount of thoughts we are consciously aware of in a given day, or hour for that matter, but it is almost as if various masks we wear in the countless relationships and social environments we find ourselves in are removed. Ideally, we are left with an unfiltered and unaltered truth. A truly vulnerable mind.
Some skepticism remains, but only in a sense that repeating every random thought, or a fully random idea seems improbable. Not just because randomness is hard to create when our worlds are full of environmental ques and unconscious relations, but because as Matias says numerous times, the list leaves one vulnerable and consciously or not, I imagine there is some rephrasing or edits that take place to seem more relatable in some cases while deflecting in others.
That said, this book was an incredibly entertaining read. I think a serious of random thoughts in it of itself is an exciting ride because for so many brief moments I find myself relating to the author and in others refuting them. It seemed like a tug of war with the author and myself trying to understand his life while questioning my own through a similar lens. This of course is just my opinion and I do not think this type of style would be for everyone, it may very well be my personality that finds the offered content intriguing but at the very least I would find it hard to argue that what is written here is not only brave but a very interesting perspective on the life of any individual.
I was surprised, but not put-off, by how personal the lists were. I was concerned that I would hate this book because I read three random things “at random” and thought, ‘oy… 2500 of these is going to be unbearable.’ Thankfully, when I started at the beginning there was a flow and it pulled me in. I think the brave nature, despite what seemed like a resistance towards it, is what was so attractive to me.
I agree Jennifer that I doubt it took him very long. I think mine took me 15 minutes to write on my cell phone, edits included. I would have kept writing but figured 25 was enough. I’m curious as to what causes this exercise to be experienced so differently by different people. What types of mental processes are more or less at work for this style?
P.S. Jennifer, I really liked your list
I was both put off by and pulled into Viegener’s book, sometimes having each reaction every few minutes. Overall, I think I found it too personal, actually. I’m not sure there was enough self-monitoring, for me. It seems we’ve gotten an OK picture of bits and pieces of his mind, so that we have some kind of overall feel for him, at least at the time of the writing, if not a general idea of his history… family, friends, trysts, travels, and name drops. As I get older, I think I enjoy people more when they hold back a little, I guess. Maybe Viegener held back in some way, but I’m not sure how we’d know for sure, even.
I like what you say about randomness, Andrew. I was thinking it might be easier to edit a sentence or two at a time to make something say more of what one wants it to say than longer passages. I do agree that it is a brave text because it feels “instant” in delivery, like Polaroid words (even if we assume he took a little time to think about the delivery, here and there). I can’t imagine he took too long, though. I spent over an hour writing my 25 things for the blog, and I thought the whole time that I was glad I didn’t have to do it every day. I bet he probably got better at it the more he did it, though. Threads seemed to naturally surface for him. If truthful, quick bits of information about one’s past, present, and future seem a good way to get a better idea of who someone might be (especially if you’ve not met), even though transitory.