Book Review: Base Oasis

Reviewed by Jadidsa Perez

An entertaining memoir following a sagacious, unique man

 Jack Dunsmoor describes himself as intelligent, sensitive, diligent, and extraordinarily tall. These characteristics influence his journey through life and add fuel to his imaginative daydreams. Base Oasis is an amalgamation of essays, from his conflicts as a youth without a father to his goal of recording fallen soldiers from WWII and Vietnam. 

In his now later years, Dunsmoor is more perceptive of how mass violence from wars is transitioning into domestic violence due to unregulated weaponry and is determined to make a change. He encounters those much more fortunate and less fortunate, detailing the growing divide in the class systems. With his unique, jocular voice, he describes his life in a way that evokes the image of joyfully listening to an elder talk in front of a fireplace. 

This memoir follows a unique structure that accentuates the enjoyable nature of the storytelling. The essays are non-chronological, rather like a forest with winding paths; it isn’t always clear where one is going, but it ends as a beautiful experience nonetheless. The essays typically cover a specific event, such as Jack’s move to LA, and dive headlong into unfolding memories. As a reader, I was often caught up in a flurry of emotion, dialogue, and imagery. It’s a joy to read the author’s grand and whimsical perspective.  

The text does a fantastic job of balancing the whimsical with the realism of the world. Jack often meets and aids people who are experiencing housing insecurities, even though he is also on the brink of losing his own home. A particularly memorable story is one where we are introduced to a kid named Luke. Jack buys Christmas presents for the disadvantaged child and goes through a lot to ensure he receives them. This book often reinforces the kindness of humanity, family, and friendship in a way that will endear many readers. 

One of the essays with some of the strongest prose is Essay 23, titled “Anybody from Danvers?” In this essay, Jack gives away two magnets that look like Scottish Dogs that he had since childhood; he believed them to be too juvenile. But afterwards, he wonders if he truly wanted to give them away or if he was doing so so “…to satisfy a transitional step in some cultural regulation determined by contemporary society, in order to change from childhood to adulthood…” Dunsmoor captures an overbearing emotion many people feel when they are experiencing adult responsibilities. I think readers of all ages can see their thoughts reflected and validated throughout Base Oasis. 

I would gladly recommend this big book to memoir readers who are looking for something vulnerable, reflective, and real.

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