Alongside and through his scrutiny of the formatting of both a page’s text and its white space, Monson repeatedly examines self, memory, and the nature of truth in nonfiction in the contexts that compel him.

I Will Take the Answer is a clutch of cultural studies that on the surface revels in frivolity.

Monson’s attention to the layering of both physical and emotional landscapes makes his interest in the profound evident throughout the collection.

Many of the essays share [Monson's] short stories’ concern with interiority (Monson writes at length about tunnels and mines, and the inside versus the outside of rivers). But the essays are more varied in form and theme. Some of them make clever use of the physical form of the codex itself.

As in previous collections, Monson experiments with the essay form, with mixed results. Sometimes, he’s too clever—e.g., in an essay about the quest for dominion over water, the text is printed to simulate liquid pouring into the gutter of the book’s binding—and frequent digressions diminish the power of his arguments. However, the best essays start in one place and move in unpredictable, satisfying directions.