What Is a Book-Length Essay?
It’s easy to say that a book-length essay is simply an essay that goes on for a long time, enough to fit the usual length requirements of a standalone book. What is more complicated is distinguishing the book-length essay from other forms of nonfiction. The question becomes how this form is different from, say, memoir, biography, criticism, history, political science, or sociology. The essay can incorporate some or all of these genres and more, but it is in itself fundamentally different. Essays, no matter their length, explore ideas, facts, and experiences, with an emphasis on explore. They are not definitive: they aren’t researched journalism or academic scholarship complete with explanatory footnotes. Instead, they attempt to look at problems, address questions, or analyze experiences. Emphasis on attempt! Essayists write in order to discover what they think. An essay is then a record of a thought process. Part of the pleasure of reading them comes from following the writer’s thinking as it develops: we get to see the twists and turns of the writer’s mind as it works through a problem. Essays are looser than other genres, and weirder. They can flit from idea to idea and can incorporate literally anything. Upon first reading, they sometimes appear to be disorganized (although often an organizational system lies underneath). They can contradict themselves or show the writer changing their mind. The essay is a genre that is weirdly anti-genre. It doesn’t want to settle down and fit in anywhere; it refuses categories and rules. I think of essays as nonfiction, but there is even room for elements of fiction. Book-length essays are the kind of books that make bookstore owners puzzle over where to shelve them, unless they have a section called “Literary Nonfiction” or similar. Sure, these books could go in the essay section, if there is one, but they could also fit in memoir, current events, cultural studies, art, music, philosophy, etc. They fit everywhere and nowhere. They are a delightfully expansive hybrid form.
Six Examples of the Book-Length Essay
Below are some examples of my favorite book-length essays. Check them out and discover some really great books and writers. Looking for more essays to read? Check out this list of 100 Must-Read Essay Collections. If you like genre-bending memoirs (which have a lot in common with the book-length essay), check out these recommendations.
