Zombie, Spaceship, Wasteland/ Patton Oswalt

Zombie, Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt. 189 pages. Comedy, Nerd-Humor

I have always been a huge fan of stand-up comedy, and I used to think that any stand-up comic who was even remotely educated could write a decent book if they really put their mind to it. Patton Oswalt (if the name doesn't ring a bell, look him up on google or imdb--- you'll recognize him) is an example of a college educated comic who I thought could write an amazing book since he is an avid reader himself....Unfortunately, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Oswalt's book is a compilation of stories from his childhood, tales from the beginning of his stand-up career, and random entries that Oswalt believes will be funny. Oswalt is a nerdy comedian, which I really appreciate, because I also come from that strain of human that transformed nerdy awkwardness into insightful humor. Unfortunately, Oswalt's humor doesn't transfer from stage-to-page. One of the most annoying devices Oswalt constantly uses is the footnote**. There is a footnote at least every three pages or so, and by the end of the book, I was questioning whether these footnotes were an annoying habit or Oswalt's attempt at a joke to bother his readers.

My final issue with the book was that it wasn't that funny... Patton Oswalt's comedy is usually upbeat with the occasional depressing comic thrown in. With his book, Oswalt seemed like he was trying more to comment on humanity and his own journey in a sentimental way instead of a funny one. At the beginning of the chapter for which the book is named, (Zombie, Spaceship, Wasteland) Oswalt says "maybe this chapter wasn't written as much for you as it was for me". I would argue that this is actually the case for the whole book.

I must admit, though that there is occasionally a funny moment, and if you have the patience to sort through all the pseudo-intellectual trash, you will find the occasional diamond in the rough. Otherwise, this book really isn't worth your time.


**While I have no problem with the occasional footnote, some of his footnotes take up half the page and break up the story in a really awkward way that leaves the reader asking "Was that really necessary?"