Some of his pieces did have a nice rhythm to them, and perhaps the ironic rant was more cutting edge 30 years ago, but they just seem juvenile now...good pieces for your highschooler's forensic competition maybe?

Someone on a Reddit board recommended “Mall” by Eric Bogosian to read if you’re interested in the teachings of Alan Watts, Ram Dass, or Terence McKenna. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the book, so I picked this one up to try him out.

I could tell from the first few pages I didn’t like the style of writing (each segment is like a play or stand-up comedy), but to my surprise, the book began to quickly engage me.

I really enjoyed this. It kind of reminds me of listening to a stoner ramble on about life and their different theories or like the movie Waking Life by Richard Linklater.

I’m definitely reading more from this author!

Monólogos envolventes, com o tom ácido da crítica social aos dilemas da época. Uma introdução tocante, com um relato breve que nos insere no momento, na visão do dramaturgo. Uma leitura rápida e impactante.

eric bogosian the freak that you are... i really like watching his one man shows, his performances are funny to me and i am utterly fascinated by the landscape that is his brain. the characters he embodies are so familiar and so baked into their time, reading this feels like i'm looking into a time capsule. i think the best way to read these is to watch the show first. at least, i found it more enjoyable that way because i could hear his voice as i read, and also it was so fun to catch a lot of the jokes i missed when they were said out loud. artist is my favorite bit from this collection. i mean, what's a microwave oven, man? everybody's got one, nobody knows what it does, nobody knows how it works, everybody's got one. why? why does everybody have a microwave oven? because the tv set told 'em to buy it, that's why. like! what's not to love. i get it. soo true. he's not wrong. bring me my tinfoil hat. it's funny because his style of narrative storytelling is pretty unusual for me to like. it's a lot of cynicism and a lot of edgy humor, but he balances it nicely with the glimmers of humanity and of hope. the old man cynicism is just so brand for the late 90s though. anyways i loved this one.

Self indulgent.

Another one-man monologue show, similar to Pounding Nails in the Floor With My Forehead; this one actually came first. Coincidentally, I just read a mid-'90s interview with Bogosian in which he compares the two pieces, and he says he thinks this one is broadly funnier, while the other is nastier. I guess I'm nasty? I definitely preferred Nails. This does have some excellent bits, though: I like the litany of pretentious late '80s yuppie foods (what the heck was going on with monkfish?) and the one where he's skewering a Mick Jagger type -- in, apparently, a British accent. Wish I could have seen that, and also the one where he raps (!) or pretends to be a female sex line operator.

Both collections contain moments where he barks like a dog, for what it's worth.

This one person show is considerably different than other plays I have read. The actor performs skits in multiple personas who can be a bit cringy.

Dated, but daring, these monologues make up Bogosian's seminal stage show, where he plays a dozen characters from the fringe - homeless man, loner, ruthless executive, and others.

Bogosian was the premiere monologist of his day, and these monologues show why he teetered between talented actor and self-absorbed rock star in his hey-day. These monologues tingle with the swagger of a man who knows he's hitting all the right notes.

The series is really terrific.

not his best, but i still enjoy bogosian's work no matter vut.

Another typical piece of work from Eric Bogosian. A bunch of monologues from characters who talk a lot about what's wrong with the world but have nothing to say. The last part is for orphaned monologues, but how can a monologue be a draft in this mess?

Currently rereading this because it's so fucking good. The title says it all. This collection of monologues speaks to me just as much now as when I was a bitter college student looking for a good audition piece. I'm still bitter, just older. However, it didn't contain the one monologue I was looking for. Hmmm... maybe it was Durang.