So this is based on The Medium Is the Message by Canadian media theory legend Marshall McLuhan, like really based on. The books are the same shape (which shape is physically hard to read, for the record. We have improved book formatting since the 1960s), has the same chapter titles, the same mix of text and graphics. Joynt is clearly very invested in this bit.

I overall liked the content, though it's difficult at times, dealing heavily with child sexual abuse. I liked all the ways Joynt talked about different mediums and different ways to tell a story, both his own and his great uncle Marshall McLuhan's. There's a lot of media criticism in here, especially about the ways storytelling has been used to enforce conformity, or elide marginalised people and perspectives.

However, The book is so closely tied to The Medium Is the Message, which I never did read and I haven't thought about in twenty years, that I often felt like I was missing half the conversation. I'm not sure who this book is for? But good for Joynt for just going for it, and Arsenal Pulp Press for being game for this odd, odd project. I'm happy it exists, even if I'm not sure I entirely understood it.