{"product_id":"against-joie-de-vivre-personal-essays-paperback-softback-9780803222731","title":"Against Joie De Vivre; Personal Essays (Paperback \/ softback) 9780803222731","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eAgainst Joie De Vivre\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003ePersonal Essays\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003ePhillip Lopate (Author), Phillip Lopate (Introduction by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780803222731\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 1 December 2008\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e336 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.2 x 14.3 x 1.9 cm, 0.39 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"Lopate entertains by blasting write-your-own-vows weddings, camaraderie in bars and the enforced gaiety of dinner parties but expounds more positively on movies, friendship and subletting as a lifestyle. . . . Despite its cranky title, this lively, unpredictable collection of essays is a joy to read, and read again.\"—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e\"Subtle, profound (and slightly devilish). Phillip Lopate can express the nuances of the urban mind better than anyone else I know. Phillip Lopate is one of the best essayists in America.\"—Noel Perrin\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\"Over the years I have developed a distaste for the spectacle of \u003ci\u003ejoie de vivre\u003c\/i\u003e, the knack of knowing how to live,\" begins the title essay by Phillip Lopate. This rejoinder to the cult of hedonism and forced conviviality moves from a critique of the false sentimentalization of children and the elderly to a sardonic look at the social rite of the dinner party, on to a moving personal testament to the \"hungry soul.\" \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eLopate's special gift is his ability to give us not only sophisticated cultural commentary in a dazzling collection of essays but also to bring to his subjects an engaging honesty and openness that invite us to experience the world along with him. Also included here are Lopate's inspiring account of his production of Chekhov's \u003ci\u003eUncle Vanya\u003c\/i\u003e with a group of preadolescents, a look at the tradition of the personal essay, and a soul-searching piece on the suicide of a schoolteacher and its effect on his students and fellow teachers. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eBy turns humorous, learned, celebratory, and elegiac, Lopate displays a keen intelligence and a flair for language that turn bits of common, everyday life into resonant narrative. This collection maintains a conversational charm while taking the contemporary personal essay to a new level of complexity and candor.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eI.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eSamson and Delilah and the Kids\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAgainst Joie de Vivre\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eArt of the Creep\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eA Nonsmoker with a Smoker\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eWhat Happened to the Personal Essay\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eII.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eNever Live Above Your Landlord\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eRevisionist Nuptials\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAnticipation of \u003ci\u003eLa Notte\u003c\/i\u003e: The \"\u003cbr\u003eHeroic\"\u003cbr\u003e Age of Moviegoing\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eModern Friendships\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eA Passion for Waiting\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eIII.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eChekhov for Children\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eOn Shaving a Beard\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eOnly Make Believe: Some Observations on Architectural Language\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eHouston Hide-and-Seek\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eCarlos: Evening in the City of Friends\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eIV. \u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eUpstairs Neighbors\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eWaiting for the Book to Come Out\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eReflections on Subletting\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eSuicide of a Schoolteacher\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Bison Books","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52716778979608,"sku":"9780803222731","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/against-joie-de-vivre-personal-essays-paperback-softback-9780803222731","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}