Isaac Fitzgerald

DIRTBAG, MASSACHUSETTS: A CONFESSIONAL (2022), by Isaac Fitzgerald. Meh. Mildly interesting memoir of a poor kid neglected by his angry parents, who drugs and drinks and screws around with his equally poor pals, but he's smart, gets into a boarding school, drugs and drinks with his rich classmates, goes to college in D.C., works crappy jobs on both coasts, has some favorite bars, blah, blah, blah. Not a very wise or even likeable guy. So finally, after 140 pages of this, I lost interest and put it down for good, glad it was a library book and not one I'd paid for. DIRTBAG indeed. Not recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER… (mer)

This was a fairly entertaining memoir, but for two reasons the book didn't fully add up for me. Let's start with the author; he's a good writer and has some impressive bylines, but is not super notable. I first noticed him when pre-Musk Twitter thoroughly roasted him for this "Only in New York!" tweet that is anything but*. So I was a bit confused at the front end as to why I should consider this in my reading list; after taking the jump and completing it, I'm still not sure.

The second concern is how all this adds up to a notable experience. His family struggles and adolescent struggles and alcohol struggles and professional identity struggles were relatable and honestly told, and there are some truly enjoyable bits. Fitzgerald is spot on that being a bar regular is a grounding experience that you can return to even when you no longer live in that favorite city of your 20s and are only back visiting. Still, I would have liked a tighter theme that laced all of his experiences in the book together.

*My partner's family ran a bodega in Hialeah, Florida and they would have sold some loose butter to a regular in need in a second, as would plenty of bodegas/delis/corner stores with hot food in most places. The quote tweets on his original tweet are kind of brutal, but they do explode this notion that he is having some unique urban experience.… (mer)