PanWashington Independent Review of BooksHis writing is appealing and incisive, but The Very Heart of It lacks a clear thesis other than the preservation of Mallon’s life on the page. A diary can be a wonderful receptacle for candor and honesty — and although Mallon would say a diarist becomes a liar once the pen hits the page, this book’s greatest strength is its honesty — but this self-indulgent one perhaps should’ve remained a book of Mallon’s own.
Chris Stedman
PositiveLambda LiteraryWhile IRL is jam-packed with metaphors and beautifully described vignettes of Stedman’s life, the most interesting and perhaps central narrative of the book is the author’s experience with scabies ... Stedman reminds us throughout IRL that these digital lives, though different, aren’t any less real than our offline ones so they must be managed with care.
