Overview

"Call it an encyclopedia of low-brow aesthetics. In Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic, the writer whom Steven Millhauser called ""the most original essayist since George Orwell"" examines with devastating wit and in a style distinctly his own the contagious appeal of that which is not art, the uses of the useless, the politics of product design and advertising. Here is a psychic voyage into the aesthetic unconscious of the consumer, as well as ""the perfect companion for any foray through Restoration Hardware or the freezer compartment at Dean & DeLuca"" (Village Voice Literary Supplement). From teddy bears to Mars Bars to Leonardo DiCaprio, this is the refuse of consumerism unflinchingly--and very entertainingly--observed."

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9780306810473

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Reviews

An exhilarating collection by a brilliant writer...a scholar of kitsch, a penetrating observer of things so familiar that they're in danger of not being noticed. - Steven Millhauser Among the rising voices in the new American essay, none is more brilliant or quirky than Daniel Harris. His new book raises cultural analysis to dizzying, voluptuous heights. Even as he skewers the ridiculous and pompous, he brings a rare tenderness and poetic wit to the task. -Phillip Lopate

Author Information

Daniel Harris is the author of The Rise and Fall of Gay Culture, a New York Times Notable Book in 1997. His essays have appeared regularly in Harper's, Salmagundi, and the Nation and have been included in the Anchor Essay Annual and Best American Essays. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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