Klosterman at the Brattle

Chuck Klosterman is currently considered a voice of a generation. The age range is about 19-25, and it was with his second book, "Sex, Drugs, And Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto," that he solidified himself as a name worth knowing. Starting as a news and sports writer, he moved over to rock criticism, but he's now writing a column for Esquire, and freelancing just about everywhere else. "Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade Of Curious People And Dangerous Ideas," with its lengthy title and appealing cover art of blurry Manhattan crowd shots at 5 am, is currently touring with its author in tow, and Monday’s stop was an intimate reading at the Brattle Theatre.

Surprise #1: Chuck is a nerd. He's incredibly tall, with pinpoint eyes that hide behind thick square-framed glasses. Accompanied by his animated hand gestures and a vocal syncopation that recalls Mitch Hedberg, his stage presence is absorbing. Surprise #2: Chuck is not as modest as one might expect. Though he's also not full of himself and his ever-growing success as a pop culture aficionado grows, he’s comfortably aware of the fact that he’s an established writer with a following that both loves and hates him. Surprise #3: Whether you’ve read all or none of his published works, you’ll continuously be amazed at how well he hits the nail on the head. His reading last night was an excerpt regarding the clear differences between the nemesis, the archenemy, and you. “Superman is the reason that Batman became an alcoholic!” he proclaimed. He makes sense in a sea of obscure references. It’d be hard to believe that any skeptic left the Brattle last night without having been converted to the Kult of Klosterman.

Review and photo contributed by Vicki G. Siolos