Before she turned 30, Alexandria Petri was the winner of the O. Henry Pun Off World Championship (I bet you didn’t even know such a contest existed) where she made puns on the names of every U.S. president in chronological order such as “if Andrew jacks an automobile” and the loser on Jeopardy! Now Petri, a columnist for the Washington Post has written her second book, Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why (W.W. Norton & Co. 2020; $17.99—Amazon price), collection of more than 50 new and adapted essays from her Post columns.
If you think someone with a resume like this was a nerd in high school, you’d be right. The only child of a U.S. Congressman from Wisconsin, she wrote a Shakespeare and feline comic book at age eight. Now that is seriously nerdy.
Petri now has taken her humor to a more modern stage. She loves to skewer politics and the somewhat frightening and nonsensical actions our politician’s take.
Is it hard, I ask her, to transform the horrible news we hear into satire and is it a way for her to keep sane?
“I think I tend to be a relatively cheery person and this almost maniacal devotion to hunting for a bright side in gloomy situations can manifest as a kind of satire,” she says in describing the way she writes such columns as “America, please don’t put bleach inside yourself like the president says” and “Know The Signs: How to tell if your grandparent has become an antifa agent” in response to President Trump’s musing that maybe the 75-year-old protestor pushed to the ground in Buffalo was actually an ANTIFA agent trying to block police communication.
It’s a way, she says, of looking at the way your thinking would have to be deranged to see today's particular monstrosity as great news.
“ I think of writing as a way of trying to make eye contact with people and say, are you seeing this too?, and in that way it is sanity-affirming,” she says. “It helps me feel less alone and remember that other people agree that this is not the way we would like our world to be.”
Sometimes even people who can win national pun contests run out of ideas. What does Petri do when this happens?
“I will usually go for a walk or pick up a book or something that isn't the news and see if fresh inputs will help my brain along, but sometimes that doesn't do it and my editor is nice enough to think it's better only to write when you have something to say,” she says. “I am also grateful that I don't always have to write jokes; sometimes I will just write a more straightforward column. If I can't think of anything funny to say, I know I don't always have to. And the flip side of this is that there are some days when I want to write three columns and have to be restrained from doing so.”
Asked if there is anything else she wants people to know about her book, Petri has a quick answer.
“I hope they will buy it and enjoy its cover,” she says, adding, “everyone please wash your hands and wear a mask and stay safe.”

Alexandra Petri has an incredible knack for combining humor with incisive, cutting points about the current state of affairs. One of the best satirists currently writing.

Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri's new collection, Nothing is Wrong and Here is Why is both a delight and a horror. Or maybe horrible delight? Skewering the thinking and the policy decisions of America's current administration, Petrie cuts right to the heart of issues most of us are worrying about on a daily, if not hourly basis. That she makes us laugh while doing so is what thinking about this giant tangled mess bearable.
Pétrie does include some essays of a more personal nature, and these are just as fun (and much less horrible.) while I enjoy her writing and satire, it can be a bit much to read them all at once. Much better to space them out over a couple of weeks.

I loved this book! Alexandra Petri writes about things that frustrate me in today's world, but does it with wit and humor. She makes you think as well as laugh. I loved her columns on Trump- it is the first time I've actually enjoyed reading about him. I would suggest reading this in small sections- you'll want the book to last for awhile. I can't wait to find other writings by Ms. Petri, I need to smile in this current climate.
Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read an ARC of this book. I'm going to keep it handy for when the day's news gets to me.

I’ve enjoyed Petri’s work in the Washington Post and this is a nice compilation. Enjoyed reading it for sure — I think she deserves far more fame than she’s received in the broader press.

It's the first time I'm reading Petri's work and I really enjoyed dipping in and out of these intelligent essays full of clarity and new perspective.

NOTHING IS WRONG AND HERE IS WHY is Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri's collection of darkly funny essays about the current state of affairs/American politics. The tone of the writing heavily satirizes the Ingsoc principles of Orwell's 1984 (bad is good! Nazi nostalgia! vengeance on the ice for the horrors it's inflicted!), so if that's not your bag, you might not appreciate this. But if it is, or if you follow the news (too) closely and are in dire need of a venue for decompressing from all its laughable absurdities, NOTHING IS WRONG AND HERE IS WHY is a great pick-up.

I've enjoyed Alexandra Petri's writing a lot over the years. This book coming out amid a global pandemic makes it land a bit differently. There is certainly still writing I find funny in here, but the premise is a little bit "if only they could see how ridiculous they are!" And it's a little difficult to find humor in that premise when there's so much blatant cruelty. There's a lot to be said for humor carrying people through dark times, and perhaps this will bring some people a needed laugh, but it didn't have that effect on me.

Also, the writing in this book is so internetty, if that makes sense, that I found it odd in book form. Like her columns are ones I hop over to in between tasks at work, to break up the day, and sitting down to read a book of them felt off.

I am now pretty ashamed to admit that, prior to reading this collection, I did not know who Alexandra Petri was and hadn't read any of her writing. I feel like I really should have.
Every essay in this book is razor sharp, acidic and laugh out loud funny. She manages to write about subjects that usually make me want to cry but she manages to make me laugh, all while writing brilliantly. I know I will revisit these essays, each one is so packed I will find more to enjoy each time.

2.5 rounded up

Reader enjoyment of this array of essays will hinge on whether you gel with Petri's sense of humour - this is an incredibly facetious collection of very short pieces written in the wake/response to Trump's presidency. There are also a smattering focusing more on MeToo, which happened to be the ones I connected most with. I think these lost their impact when read consecutively, so perhaps this is a collection to dip in and out of if you want reminding of what dire political times we are living through.

This is a laugh-out-loud while also face-palming kind of read that reflects on the current state of politics, society, and culture in a style that both funny and thoughtful. Alexandra's humor is contagious and she manages to make you laugh, cry, and think with her wit. Such a great read that's deep, yet light-hearted.

The author is one of my favorite follows on twitter and this collection of essays is just like her: funny, insightful, and hopeful in a time of fear. Highly recommend. RTC.

Perfectly timed political humor for this election cycle. Petri has a relatable quirk to her writing style.

As someone who both wants to be informed about current events but also usually finds himself overwhelmed by the news, I always find Alexandra Petri’s writing to be an extremely effective balm. Expertly using a humor style that often veers into the absurd and the surreal, she always manages to masterfully highlight the genuine stupidity or madness of whatever event or topic she has chosen to target, all while bringing me some much-needed laughter in the process. And now that her past Washington Post columns (plus a few new extras essays) that have previously brought me joy are all organized together in a collection, I now have a nice little anxiety antidote I can reach for whenever reality feels too much. I can pick any essay here at random, and no matter my selection I will be mercifully guaranteed at least a toothy grin and some hearty chuckles from a writer who has so skillfully captured the ludicrous zeitgeist of these overly interesting times.