Told with beautiful writing that’s cutting, subtle, and relatable all at once, Mester uses a memoir style to illustrate why it’s important to approach consumerism with empathy and how individuals are just tools in capitalism’s constant extraction. Be it money, energy, health, self-esteem, joie de vivre… capitalists won’t stop until they take everything from everyone.

The structure was artful. Every section of this was well done and thought-provoking. The standouts for me were Mester’s reflections on fat camp, her experience working at Ulta, and her commentary on review culture. The three-part story about her Grandma was so emotional and raw: Mester skillfully applied tension around the state of her Grandma’s house in Storm Lake.

This book is also an artfully crafted slice-of-life/slice-of-time of the Midwest in Mester’s and her dad’s time. Mester’s writing transported me to restaurants, malls, and small town America so authentically!

It’s easy to feel repulsed/angered by the flagrant excess that Mester describes but, equally, it stirred a compassion in me for how her family was not coping with the weight of ambivalence. Her self-awareness around her privileged upbringing and her consumerist tendencies was refreshing, honest, and brutal. Putting herself out there so openly with this memoir is commendable!

A well-written, intelligent, and accessible commentary on excess, I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and I’m genuinely excited for what Mester writes next.

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you so much, W. W. Norton! ✨