On Immunity: An Inoculation
Author: Eula Biss
Rating: â 5/5
Date Read: 2016/09/07
Pages: 205
Iâm going to have a difficult time explaining what âOn Immunityâ is about. This is a nonfiction book about vaccination, but, while itâs well-researched, it isnât popular science. Itâs a book about a new motherâs desire to protect her son, but it isnât a memoir. Iâve found Eula Bissâs layered, lyrical style difficult to pin down in the past, and this book hasnât made it any easier.
As a writer, I find Bissâs style inspiring. Iâm impressed by how seamlessly she blends personal narrative with academic conjecture, and how consistently she maintains her tone while jumping between these extremes. I do plan on blatantly stealing some of her stylistic techniques, which is pretty high praise.
On the downside, Bissâs meandering style sometimes feels sluggish and disjointed. Bissâs does not commit herself to a particular structure, which allows her to jump back and forth in time while switching between different vignettes and topics. While this affords great creative freedom, I wish Biss had used a minimalist narrative structure to anchor the book (as she does in The Pain Scale). At the least, I feel she could have done a better job differentiating each section, as some come across as rehashes of others.
Despite its flaws (and the despite the fact that I still donât know what the book is about, even though I thought the process of writing this review would clarify that for me), âOn Immunityâ was certainly one of my favorite reads of 2016 and deserving of five stars.