[Book Review] The Consolation of the Shoes by Manolo the Shoeblogger
Not The Manolo
Full disclosure: The real The Manolo is a friend of mine and, no, I will not reveal his identity. Ergo, the review you are about to read is horribly biased.
by Roger L. Simon
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But it is at least publicly so. Most book reviews are written by people who seek to a. promote their own books, b. promote themselves, c. reward friends, d. punish enemies, e. earn a paltry sum of money or f. several or all of the preceding categories at once.
In this case it is only “c” (with a possible soupçon of “b”) - so it is, as The Manolo himself might say, perhaps not so bad.
Therefore, to save you from further expenditure of your precious time by reading the rest of this review - buy this book or, more exactly, pamphlet The Consolation of The Shoes by Manolo the Shoeblogger. It is indispensable reading, stunningly witty and hugely informative.
But don’t trust me (and at this point you won’t), trust Prof. Dr. Boethius P. Korncrake, Chair of Medieval Semiotics, Institut für Eurpäische Spielwissenschaft und Freizeistforschung, who writes in his introduction to the pamphlet: “The Manolo you will encounter here will surprise you with his perspicacity and persistence and delight you with his ready wit and powerful charm.”
Indeed, as another Internet Original often says. The Manolo - as many of us know - is also an Internet Original. I first encountered his writing a few years ago when I had just started blogging (calming down here, no more jokes, so you can again just quit reading and buy the pamphlet). What attracted me was something unique - a blogger with an obviously adopted persona whose writing satisfied on the multiple levels you only find in the best ironic novelists. The Manolo, on his blog, could teach us style and decorum, observe our culture, sell shoes and be funny all at the same time. It was a tap dance he continued to carry off, to my amazement, from week to week. I wondered if he could expand this into longer forms.
Now I know. The Consolation of The Shoes is an attempt to explain The Manolo without explaining him, if you know what I mean, and it succeeds brilliantly. Yet somehow, beneath all the obfuscations and stratagems, truth emerges. And perhaps that is the point. We learn much of the character and development of The Manolo, about his allegiance to Lady Fashion, and the answer to one of the greatest of all imponderables - equal to, if not exceeding, the conundrum of one hand clapping … “What, then, oh mortal men, do you seek happiness outside that which lies within your shoes?”
Pajamas CEO Roger L. Simon’s favorite shoes are Pumas.
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2 Comments
tennisnut:He is hilarious. It is a style that is both snarky and witty. I accidentally stumbled on him when he was mentioned in another blog. I am a woman who has about five pair of shoes and no interest in same but he is a true original. I wait for him to advise Hillary.
May 27, 2007 - 11:54 am bob:I think you meant Europaeische.
May 27, 2007 - 1:14 pm