Overview

From garage rock to Greta Gerwig, Jason Diamond asks us to reconsider the creative potential of the American suburb as he leads us down the cul-de-sac and out again. For decades the suburbs have been where art happens ""despite"": despite the conformity, the emptiness, the sameness. The familiar story is one of gems formed under pressure, creative transcendence fueled by suburban resentment. But what if the suburb has actually been an incubator for distinctly American art, as positively and as surely as in any other cultural hothouse? Mixing personal experience, cultural reportage, and history while rejecting cliches and pieties, these essays stretch across the country in an effort to show that this uniquely American milieu deserves another look.

Full Product Details

9781566895828

Table of Contents

Reviews

Despite the many stereotypes about the conformity of the suburbs, Chicago-area native Jason Diamond sees these borderland communities as the 'incubator for distinctly American art' . . . The Sprawl is precisely within Diamond's personal wheelhouse. -The Week For those of us who grew up outside of the suburbs, or encased by suburbs, there may have been a longing to understand their interior. The Sprawl is such a generous book for how it both acknowledges the privileges of boundary but also demystifies the small living moments that take place within. This is a warm and thoughtful book that doesn't just coast on beauty and nostalgia without challenging both. -Hanif Abdurraqib Thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully rendered, The Sprawl is a book that offers us insight into the suburban spaces that define America. Throughout each chapter, Diamond manages to be both generous and unsparing, funny and deeply thorough, in his analysis of the parking lots, privilege, and prejudice that infuse the America of our childhoods. The Sprawl is a necessary cultural analysis for understanding who we are as a nation and what we will become. -Lyz Lenz Jason Diamond instinctively understands how the American suburb has shaped the American psyche, somehow both softening and igniting it-he sees the depravity and ennui that Cheever immortalized, but also the odd beauty of mowed lawns and food courts and paved driveways. A child of the suburbs myself, I devoured this smart, probing, and deeply human meditation on what it means to be promised comfort, and what it feels like to tear yourself apart trying to escape it. -Amanda Petrusich Tells a heartbreaking story of restless youth, imposter syndrome, and the movies that help him make sense of it all. . . . Makes me want to tell my parents and children how much I love them . . . and then curl up on the couch and watch The Breakfast Club. -Emma Straub, author of the New York Times bestsellers Modern Lovers and The Vacationers With geniality, humor and charm, Diamond explores the ways in which cinematic fantasy can influence, overshadow, and help us to escape reality. This book is for anyone playing out an eternal adolescence. -Melissa Broder, author of So Sad Today Jason Diamond writes with equal parts wit and candor about what happens when life diverges wildly from the suburban fairy tales made popular by John Hughes. Diamond passionately conveys how lovely it is when we find less cinematic but harder earned happy endings on our own terms. -Maris Kreizman, author of Slaughterhouse 90210 Oh look, it's all my favorite things in one book: Chicago, New York City, punk rock, food, and existential crises...Bittersweet, charming and hilarious...details the longing and struggle of an aspiring writer with clarity, wit, and heart. -Jami Attenberg, New York Times best-selling author of The Middlesteins and Saint Mazie Both funny and heartbreaking, Diamond's memoir is not just an account of how one director's films impacted-and perhaps saved-his life. It is also a memorable reflection on what it means to let go of the past and grow up. A quirkily intelligent memoir of finding oneself in movies. -Kirkus

In this insightful work of narrative nonfiction, journalist Diamond (Searching for John Hughes) draws from personal experience, history, and media to consider the significance of the suburbs in American culture. . . . his cultural criticism is consistently astute. This is a smart, enjoyable study that will be particularly appreciated by other suburban expats. -Publishers Weekly As the narrative progresses, the author becomes increasingly eloquent about such things as pop music. . . . literature as written by the likes of Dave Eggers and Jonathan Lethem, and film such as, yes, John Hughes' oeuvre and Sofia Coppola's interpretation of The Virgin Suicides. . . . A literate meditation on clipped-lawn places easily taken for granted but that well deserve such reflection. -Kirkus Despite the many stereotypes about the conformity of the suburbs, Chicago-area native Jason Diamond sees these borderland communities as the 'incubator for distinctly American art' . . . The Sprawl is precisely within Diamond's personal wheelhouse. -The Week For those of us who grew up outside of the suburbs, or encased by suburbs, there may have been a longing to understand their interior. The Sprawl is such a generous book for how it both acknowledges the privileges of boundary but also demystifies the small living moments that take place within. This is a warm and thoughtful book that doesn't just coast on beauty and nostalgia without challenging both. -Hanif Abdurraqib Thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully rendered, The Sprawl is a book that offers us insight into the suburban spaces that define America. Throughout each chapter, Diamond manages to be both generous and unsparing, funny and deeply thorough, in his analysis of the parking lots, privilege, and prejudice that infuse the America of our childhoods. The Sprawl is a necessary cultural analysis for understanding who we are as a nation and what we will become. -Lyz Lenz Jason Diamond instinctively understands how the American suburb has shaped the American psyche, somehow both softening and igniting it-he sees the depravity and ennui that Cheever immortalized, but also the odd beauty of mowed lawns and food courts and paved driveways. A child of the suburbs myself, I devoured this smart, probing, and deeply human meditation on what it means to be promised comfort, and what it feels like to tear yourself apart trying to escape it. -Amanda Petrusich Tells a heartbreaking story of restless youth, imposter syndrome, and the movies that help him make sense of it all. . . . Makes me want to tell my parents and children how much I love them . . . and then curl up on the couch and watch The Breakfast Club. -Emma Straub, author of the New York Times bestsellers Modern Lovers and The Vacationers With geniality, humor and charm, Diamond explores the ways in which cinematic fantasy can influence, overshadow, and help us to escape reality. This book is for anyone playing out an eternal adolescence. -Melissa Broder, author of So Sad Today Jason Diamond writes with equal parts wit and candor about what happens when life diverges wildly from the suburban fairy tales made popular by John Hughes. Diamond passionately conveys how lovely it is when we find less cinematic but harder earned happy endings on our own terms. -Maris Kreizman, author of Slaughterhouse 90210 Oh look, it's all my favorite things in one book: Chicago, New York City, punk rock, food, and existential crises...Bittersweet, charming and hilarious...details the longing and struggle of an aspiring writer with clarity, wit, and heart. -Jami Attenberg, New York Times best-selling author of The Middlesteins and Saint Mazie Both funny and heartbreaking, Diamond's memoir is not just an account of how one director's films impacted-and perhaps saved-his life. It is also a memorable reflection on what it means to let go of the past and grow up. A quirkily intelligent memoir of finding oneself in movies. -Kirkus

Praise for The Sprawl An NPR Favorite Book of 2020 A Booklist Best New Book 2020 An Esquire Best Summer Book of 2020 A Town & Country Best Summer Book of 2020 An Electric Literature Best Nonfiction of 2020 A Planetizen Top Urban Planning Book of 2020 A Refinery29 Best Summer Book of 2020 “A humble and curious must-read.” —Booklist, starred review “A warm, engaging reminder that places quickly written off can be the birthplace of the next big thing.” —Adrienne Westenfeld, Esquire “Using personal experience, history, and cultural reportage, Diamond finds these tidy, bland environs have produced or inspired some of the country’s finest artists.” —Amy Sutherland, The Boston Globe “Part melancholic meditation on the meaning of the suburbs, part encyclopedic survey of the suburbs in pop culture references, and part futurist reimagining of the possibilities of suburbia. At its core, it’s both a paean to the place that formed Diamond and a wistful epitaph to where that childhood was discarded.” —Isabel Slone, Hazlitt “Excellent. . . . Diamond’s omnivorous and expansive sense allows him to weave history, popular culture, literature, film, and his own experiences into a revelatory take on suburban life.” —Nick Ripatrazone, The Millions “It’s the rare work of cultural criticism with a purview that encompasses William Gibson, Celeste Ng, and Anthony Bourdain—and it’s all the stronger for it.” —Tobias Carroll, Literary Hub “Diamond is a keen cultural critic leveraging a deep reservoir of knowledge. The Sprawl leads us on a journey through the promise of suburbia while expertly peeling back the curtain.” —Ian MacAllen, Chicago Review of Books “Exceptionally smart and wildly fun at the same time.” —Hillary Kelly, Vulture “Funny, smart, and heavy on pop culture allusions. . . . Where this book really excels is in identifying certain moods that relate to suburban America.” —Joseph Houlihan, Rain Taxi Review ”This is a warm and thoughtful book that doesn’t just coast on beauty and nostalgia without challenging both.” —Hanif Abdurraqib “Thoughtful, well-researched, and beautifully rendered. The Sprawl is a necessary cultural analysis for understanding who we are as a nation and what we will become.” —Lyz Lenz “A child of the suburbs myself, I devoured this smart, probing, and deeply human meditation on what it means to be promised comfort, and what it feels like to tear yourself apart trying to escape it.” —Amanda Petrusich

Author Information

Jason Diamond is a writer and editor living in Brooklyn. His first book was Searching for John Hughes.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available