Lost a Sea is definitely a book that garners a PG 13+ rating from me because of profanity and content. In some ways the book defies description; being a collection of observations of a vast array of oddities. The author immerses himself in lifestyles of those whose beliefs and experiences which are far different from his.
Among these are:
- A conversion camp for agnostics
- A cruise with a famous psychic
- An exploration of how/why credit card companies deluge certain individuals with offers
- A UK pop star’s belief and obsession with aliens
- A UK celebrity’s trial for sex crimes
- A look at what happens when people are lost at sea while on cruises (the number of people to whom this happens was shocking to me)
- The lifestyle and experiences of a man who helps depressed people commit suicide
- A religious group whose members donate kidneys to those in need
What most of these accounts have in common are central characters whom most of us would look at with skepticism, perhaps even abhorrence, and at the very least we’d be thinking, “That is one odd person!”
My favorite chapter had less to do with oddities, per se, but was instead a look at the differences and commonalities of those living at various economic levels. He started by interviewing a man who makes $10,000 a year and then interviewed a series of people who made five times the previous interviewee (so $50,000; $250,000; $1.25 million, etc. up to a billionaire). What the author found was that there weren’t as many differences between the lifestyles of the two lowest incomes as he expected. Being from the UK he was shocked at how much of the $50,000 family income was devoted to health insurance each month ($750) and that they needed to visit a local food bank in order to make ends meet.
Although some of the people whom Jon Ronson meets are offensive (especially the musicians in the first chapter), they are fascinating enough to make this book a worthwhile read. Reading about these people with very different philosophies and opinions is enough to make you wonder about the people you pass on the street – what aspects of their lives might seem odd to you, but perfectly normal to them?
Rating: 4/5
I received a free copy of this book for review.
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