When friends and relatives suffer fatal accidents, Mike's fun monthly newsletter evolves into an existential exploration of his own close calls edging towards death, to remind us that life’s greatest reward is life itself.
Assessment:
Idea: Rembis crafts a unique memoir told in newsletter dispatches that range from quiet observations to profound ruminations on circumstances beyond the author's control. The focus might be narrowed to decrease ambiguity and confusion across the text. Responses from other individuals are more tangential than fully edifying.
Prose: Rembis’s prose is witty and his observations are frequently incisive. The piecemeal nature of the work may leave readers wishing for more substantial writing as the narrative progresses.
Originality: The Rembis Report is decidedly unique in its merging of diary-like entries with private, fractured correspondences. The vignette-like structure is refreshing, but the work’s overall intent and purpose remain somewhat vague and would benefit from a greater degree of intentionality.
Character/Execution: Rembis offers readers fine writing and some powerful moments, but the text also displays a tone of sarcasm, which may make it difficult for readers to fully connect with his storytelling.
Date Submitted: January 27, 2022
We often hear that if you want to keep your correspondence, you should not write emails but letters because it is much easier to delete and forget the former rather than the latter. That may be true, but Mike Rembis' The Rembis Report is an exception in this regard.
This book collects the emails that Rembis wrote to about 200 people between 2006 and 2009 and the replies he received. In those years, the author was away from home and wanted to keep in touch with his friends. The result is that The Rembis Report collects XXXV Volumes in which Rembis recounts his travels, the works for the screen that he was working on, events he experienced, and observations on various topics. In short, The Rembis Report is a very original and entertaining book.The first thing that came to my mind while reading Mike Rembis' book was that it was a great idea to choose emails to communicate with other people. Here the recipients are many, so in the pages dedicated to their answers, you can feel the energy of many people and not of a single one. Moreover, the variety of themes that Rembis deals with makes The Rembis Report an engaging read. What intrigued me the most was reading Rembis' considerations on The Secret, while the saddest pages are those dedicated to the fire that caused the death of his sister and to Ruperto's accident. Overall, The Rembis Report is a book I thoroughly enjoyed, and I hope many other readers will be equally thrilled.
I’m very honoured to have been the first person to read your entire book, it was certainly very enjoyable for me.
When I finished reading The Rembis Report the emotion I felt was that sense of satisfaction that comes from having read a good book. It was mentally refreshing I think, because the various stories were often so unexpectedly divergent, but not out of place at all. I was reminded of the days when my dad was still alive and my family and I would visit our holiday home in Barbados. It’s in the countryside and we don’t have the internet or a television there so you take books you know you’ll like and really get to enjoy reading them. I felt like that.
I enjoyed your Report. I love the way you describe the people, places, and events in your life.
Your writing style, as with your humor, is droll. I enjoyed it, as it's that kind of writing and humor I relate to most. Your observations on life, and the humans we share this planet with, were fun to hear. You have skill, you have the forum, and I think you'll do well with this. The length was too short, as I wanted to know more about all that was happening in your life!
Thank you for choosing me to read your book.
I enjoyed reading your book. I had to get used to the style you used. As someone outside your country, your book gave me an honest cultural exposure which I really liked. The descriptions became so vivid that I could imagine them. As I read further the book became more and more interesting. The best part is that as I read along I felt like I'm reading mails from a friend. Once the reader gets used to the writing style, the reading experience is great.
