A collection of articles/essays written over a 20 year period. The acknowledgements reveal that most were previously published in some form in an impressive range of literary journals and magazines, but have been revised.

The pieces include memoir, travel, and pieces on literature and other culture. I enjoyed the memoir pieces and was quite startled by some of them. Between motorbike races and hanging out with biker friends, bar work (including stints at some very famous music venues in San Francisco, and travel), it's quite surprising that this woman found time to study to postgraduate level, and establish a writing career including these pieces and three novels.

I found the first couple of articles especially memorable

- Girl on a Motorcyle about being part of a group of young people involved in quite scary and dangerous long distance motorbike races

- We Are Orphans Here - about a visit to Shuafat Refugee Camp, East Jerusalem, in 2016, a place rarely visited by outsiders, some of the difficulties the occupants face and their opinions

I also liked pieces on American writer Denis Johnson and Nanni Balestrini (Italy) - I've only read one book by Balestrini, in a rather difficult experimental style (assuming the translation reflected the original). Made to Burn was originally published in a journal, and I don't know if the images there were produced in colour - here they are in black and white. This is a discussion of some of the images that inspired Kushner's second novel about Italy in the 1970s, The Flamethrowers. All of these and several other pieces make me want to read further, some time soon.

An intriguing and thought provoking collection. ( )

Overall I think this collection suffers from being a bit uneven, but luckily there are more bangers than duds. While I enjoyed her essays on literary and art criticism, I much preferred Kushner's essays on her life and personal experiences.

Favorites: Girl on a Motorcycle, We Are Orphans Here, Made to Burn, Is Prison Necessary?, and The Hard Crowd. ( )

Rachel Kushner is SO COOL. These essays just prove it. Such interesting varied topics written in a thoughtful, smart way. She's like the Steve McQueen of writers. ( )

The opening essay is worth the price of the book. The second essay, about a totally different topic, lost all the momentum for me. After that, I flipped around and nothing else really grabbed my attention, so I don't really know about the rest. A collection of essays by a contemporary author is not the kind of book I would normally read, so my reaction to most of it is probably unsurprising, but I will not soon forget Kushner's story of her days as a girl on a motorcycle. It almost felt dangerous reading the thing! ( )

Rachel Kushner is an author I have always meant to read, but never got around to until now. Although she is best known for her fiction, The Hard Crowd is a collection of essays from the last twenty years on a wide range of topics. All are brilliantly written, sharp and well researched. While not all the topics were my jam, overall it was a thought provoking read.

The first essay is about a sort-of-illegal motorbike race, which reminded me a little of the Dakar rally but without the money behind it. It’s a gripping read and introduces Kushner to the reader as a woman who knows a lot about a wide range of topics. Several other essays mention classic cars she’s owned or owns (like the Ford Galaxie on the cover). I would have been happy for more about these cars, but sadly it was not to be. Other essays were on topics that I knew little about, such as Shuafat Refugee Camp in East Jerusalem, which were fascinating. The Italian politics of the 1970s and the underground films or art I was less interested in, but Kushner puts well informed knowledge forward with strong arguments. Kushner has also lived a fascinating life and her tales of San Francisco outside the tourist realm were captivating. I’d love to read her memoirs or a history of the city written by her. Her writing is always clear, with no room for ambiguity. She writes strongly and I’d love to read more of her non-fiction, focusing of her observations of life.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )