What Is the What writes: "Over the course of many years, Dave and I have collaborated to tell my story... I told [him] what I knew and what I could remember, and from that material he created this work of art." The book is typical of Eggers' style: blending non-fictional and fictional elements into a non-fiction novel or memoir. By classifying the book a novel, Eggers says, he freed himself to re-create conversations, streamline complex relationships, add relevant detail and manipulate time and space in helpful ways—all while maintaining the essential truthfulness of the storytelling. However, not all critics were impressed. Lee Siegel sees
What Fresh Hell Is This? commercial obscurity", and "Calgary Herald" critic James Muretich calling the album "more tortured, timeless tunes of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll by Canada's subculture answer to Ray Davies, Leonard Cohen and Paul Westerberg". It won the Juno Award for Best Alternative Album in 1996. Bergmann followed up with "Design Flaw", an album of rerecorded versions of songs from his earlier albums, in 1998, but did not record another full-length album of new material until "The Apostate" in 2016. What Fresh Hell Is This? What Fresh Hell is This? is the fourth studio album by Art Bergmann, released in 1995