Her essays confront a wide range of subjects, themes, icons, and historical moments: Ike, Teddy Roosevelt, and Bill Clinton; Canadian Mounties and German Filmmakers; Tom Cruise and Buffy the Vampire Slayer; twins and nerds; the Gettysburg Address, the State of the Union, and George W. Bush's inauguration.

The result is a teeming and engrossing audiobook, capturing Vowell's memorable wit and her keen social commentary.

A self-proclaimed "civics nerd," this knowledge of politics feeds her world view. The centerpiece of this collection, "The Nerd Voice," is a twenty-plus-page look at the 2000 election, why Gore didn't win, and how she and her friends--all members of a web forum--felt about it. Upon noticing that Bob Dole is attending, seeing him comforts her in a way, and she feels he "symbolizes a simpler, more innocent time in America when you could lose the presidential election and, like, not actually become president."

She likens the presidential race to the proverbial Jock vs. Nerd battle from school. Gore was seen as too smart, so he must be taken down. She then notes that the reason Bush was not shot during the attack on the Oval Office was because he was not working, but was in the White House gym instead, exercising.

The title piece, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot," starts out as a review of the Mel Gibson film but metamorphoses into a commentary on the use of the word "patriot" following the events of September 11th and concludes with her views on the prevalence of flags, their symbolism, and why she doesn't want one stuck uninvited into her yard.

The collection is slightly uneven but that has to be expected from a collection whose only discernible theme is "America." What is here is a wonderful new view of the world around us; one that is insightful, pointedly funny, and should open your mind to see things in a different way--the Sarah Vowell way. After all, who else would list the numerous people who almost daily compare themselves to civil rights icon Rosa Parks and point out the insanity of it all?


As a (longishtime) fan, I'm not so pleased...   September 10, 2002
 25 out of 48 found this review helpful

I've always found myself enthralled by Sarah's work--be it with McSweeney's, Ira Glass, David Sedaris, or even on, of all things, TV. I thought "Take the Cannoli" was simply delightful...so much so that I promptly assigned it to my senior-level seminar in organizational theory, eventually justifying it's selection solely on the merits of "general principle." "Much like Weber's writings on bureaucracy, Vowell's work is foundational!" I intoned. The extra credit question on the final exam read "Which 21st century writer's work could hold it's own against the likes of Weber, Durkheim and Simmel on an Entertainment Tonight poll?"

As a fan, I dig her playful, innocent-yet-incisive voice, the unabashed interest in geekdom, etc. Moreover, it's pretty clear that we've both shared all-too-many of the same experiences, even down to our public fondness--and focused interest in--the obscurest of rock musicians, national monuments and cinematic moments. Perhaps it's this same kind focused interest (in this case regarding her work) that explains why I took the time to actually log on to Amazon and offer these comments.

Namely, the voice of "Take the Cannoli,"--the voice which seems to so effortlessly reach a broad audience while discussing seemingly mundane subject matter (e.g. her dad's homemade canons)--seems on this outing to be a little, well, lost.

In place of essays regarding a father's interest in canons, one's early experiences in marching band or the role of mixed tapes in nailing down a future mate, "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" is built from the more common, familiar terrains of politics, ideology and history. And while it's not the case that her writing is any less "sharp" or "insightful"--lord know I wish I could master her sense of economy--our collective preoccupation and familiarity with her chosen landscapes (old presidents, the civil war, 9/11, the last presidential election, etc.) somehow leaves less room for her own literary talents/gifts to peek through. I guess you could say it's harder for Sarah to sound like Sarah when she's chiming in on the same debates my dogmatic, political friends are always blathering on about Though admittedly, she does so with infinitely more grace and style!

Or maybe a clearer way of putting this is to say that I think this style works best when the author is able to find the most familiar of stories and/or subject matter in the unlikliest of places.

Or something like that anway...


I appreciate her dry wit   December 31, 2002
 23 out of 24 found this review helpful

I was first introduced to Sarah Vowell when flipping through the channels on television. I stopped on a program on the Discovery Channel, where several authors were invited to speak at some sort of event. Sarah has this somewhat annoying, nasaly sound to her voice that is at once both annoying and completely endearing. After listening to her speak, I bought The Partly Cloudy Patriot on a whim, and was completely taken in.

Sarah Vowell is, at heart, a hip, nerdish, Gen-Xer like me. She has a special knack for story-telling. When I read this book, I was reminded of David Sedaris in some ways. I enjoyed it as much as Sedaris, but for different reasons. While Sedaris' anecdotes are "laugh out loud" funny, Sarah's stories are told with a dry, subtle wit. I look forward to reading more of her work.