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Product Identifiers

PublisherNorton & Company, Incorporated, w. w.

ISBN-101324035234

ISBN-139781324035237

eBay Product ID (ePID)12064995328

Product Key Features

Book TitleAmerican Bulk : Essays on Excess

Number of Pages240 Pages

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2024

TopicEconomic History, Consumer Behavior, Personal Memoirs, Essays

GenreSocial Science, Biography & Autobiography, Business & Economics

AuthorEmily Mester

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height0.1 in

Item Weight8.3 Oz

Item Length0.8 in

Item Width0.6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

Dewey Edition23

ReviewsSly and brilliant...looks not only at the rise of ever more disposable goods but at the relationship we as consumers have with them., A funny, incisive, humane dispatch from a brilliant new voice in nonfiction. American Bulk had me cringing, laughing, and yes, even tearing up as it drew the contours of my own, and our national, appetites. I remain amazed that a book so clear-eyed in its scrutiny of our capitalistic perversity left me with so much hope., Paints a vivid portrait of American consumerism....A thought-provoking view of our relationship with consumption and excess., American Bulk is composed of some of my favorite nonfiction essays on family, capital, love and dysfunction that I've ever read. It's a refreshing and needed reframing of what all these things mean, today, right now, as the neon haze of fast-food signs flicker from their long-time dominion of the American experience. Mester examines our compulsion to consume with careful incisions that I kept highlighting and coming back to, just to whisper the words to myself to make their clear-eyed cleverness my own., With compassion, wit, and piercing honesty, Emily Mester delves into our love of consumerism--and what our desires say about who we want to become. Bravely personal, incisively critical, American Bulk is a report on our national psyche and a captivating family story., A dryly witty and deeply thoughtful essay collection that delves into everything from the bulk-buying psychology that powers Costco's popularity to what it's like to work seasonal shifts at Ulta Beauty., Inquisitive and deeply observed....In a late-stage capitalism heaving with choice, Mester assumes the role of a millennial Virgil with both style and grace....Mester forges a compassionate route through brand-name overabundance to better understand the impulse to consume., [American Bulk] excels at restoring texture to the smooth banalities of our consumer existence. Mester is like a Midwestern Baudrillard....[A] cultural critic of such promise deserves a big welcome mat.

Dewey Decimal306.30973

SynopsisWhat if we explored our relationship to consumption with the same depth and feeling we use to tell stories of great loves and losses? Americans are caught up in bulk. We guiltily watch Amazon boxes pile up on the porch, wade through endless reviews to find the perfect product, and crave the comforting indulgence of a chain restaurant. In American Bulk, Emily Mester intertwines cultural critique and personal history to explore how the things we buy, eat, amass, and discard become an intimate part of our lives. With humor and sharp intellect, she reflects on the joys and anxieties of family Costco trips, how a seasonal stint at Ulta Beauty taught her the insidious art of the sale, and what it means to get Mall Sad. In a nuanced examination of diet culture and fatness, Mester recounts her teenage summer at fat camp and the unexpected liberation she finds there. Finally, she ventures to Storm Lake, Iowa, to reckon with her grandmother's abandoned hoard, excavating the dysfunction that lies at the heart of her family's obsession with stuff. American Bulk introduces readers to a striking new literary talent from the American heartland, one who dares to ask us to regard consumption not with guilt but with grace and empathy., In a series of deeply personal essays, Mester explores how the things we buy, eat, amass, and discard become an intimate part of our lives. We guiltily watch Amazon boxes pile up on the porch, wade through endless reviews to find the perfect product, and crave the comforting indulgence of a chain restaurant. With humor and sharp intellect, Mester reflects on the joys and anxieties of Costco trips, how a seasonal stint at Ulta Beauty taught her the insidious art of the sale, and what it means to get "mall sad." In a nuanced examination of diet culture and fatness, Mester recounts her teenage summer at fat camp and the unexpected liberation she finds there. Finally, she ventures to Storm Lake, Iowa, to reckon with her grandmother's abandoned hoard, excavating the dysfunction that lies at the heart of her family's obsession with stuff. American Bulk introduces readers to a striking new literary talent from the American heartland, one who dares to ask us to regard consumption not with guilt but with grace and empathy., A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2024 Raised with hoarding and compulsive shopping, Emily Mester is caught in between. What happens when consumption begins to consume you back?

LC Classification NumberHC79.C6M4 2024