After three successful books, all of which offered fake news and invented facts in almanac form, John Hodgman has produced a largely autobiographical work. Vacationland consists of a collection of essay-type stories that chart Hodgman’s progress through both time and space, tracking his experience from childhood to his forties and his movement from his youth in western Massachusetts to his later forays in Maine. His topics range widely, from such major themes as death, drugs, and adulthood, to such particulars as the singular lack of appeal of Maine’s beaches, the horrors of freshwater clams, and the purpose of the mustache. The book is filled with hilarious asides, wry anecdotes, self-deprecating quips, and whimsical observations, but the overall image of Hodgman that emerges is of a middle-aged guy struggling with the realities of aging and trying to make sense of the absurdities of life.
