Beach Sloth, one of the friendliest and most honest internet presences online, reviewed The Laughter of Strangers. As a master of the internet brand, Sloth taps right into the meat of the book: man as spectacle, individual as salable object. Here’s a sample of what he had to say:
‘The Laughter of Strangers’ is the person as a spectacle, the man as the MEME. Unable to change the discussion the narrator becomes trapped. Society does this to the narrator. Accustomed to literal fights, the blows to the head, the narrator can’t handle blows to his ego. Despite the narrator’s tough exterior (tattoos, scars, and broken bones) he retreats deep into his mind. By being inside his mind he allows single words to morph into terrible things, hurtful things. Over-analysis from the narrator destroys his fragile mind. Left alone to his own devices (the TV as his companion) he breaks down from the jabs of news media, various headlines, false stories, etc.
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Michael J. Seidlinger 