{"product_id":"american-bulk-essays-on-excess-9781324035237","title":"American Bulk: Essays on Excess","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmericans 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 \u003cem\u003eAmerican Bulk\u003c\/em\u003e, 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. \u003cem\u003eAmerican Bulk\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/26\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781324035237\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240","brand":"Emily Mester","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44683526308021,"sku":"9781324035237","price":15.29,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_274333ce-6869-4f1f-b168-3a75202b304f.jpg?v=1727796213","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/american-bulk-essays-on-excess-9781324035237","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}