EXCERPT:

It’s refreshing to read these essays in book format where they are decoupled from the rabble of internet message boards. Dery inspires strong feelings in readers, and the inevitable arguments that transpire in the comments sections following his posts can be harrowing, and often beside the point. Here, the work stands alone, as it should.

A piece of the mysterious puzzle of my enduring affinity for Dery’s work was suddenly revealed to me in the intriguing 13 Ways of Looking At A Severed Head. Reading this essay, I was gratified to learn that I am not the only one who has harbored recurring fantasies of, to put it delicately, the guillotine treatment to the neck.  It’s an extreme thing, I almost never admit it, but then I read the essay and see I am not alone in my peculiar fixation.

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