Reviews for Living large : from SUVs to double-Ds---why going bigger isn't going better
Library Journal
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Journalist Wexler (Allure magazine) investigates Americans' obsession with "supersizing" in this interesting contribution to the recent trend of theme-based popular studies. Much like A.J. Jacobs's A Year of Living Biblically or Mary Roach's Stiff, Wexler examines her topic from many quirky angles: she visits a mega-church and the MGM Grand casino, shops for a Tiffany engagement ring and breast implants, and takes a Hummer out for a test drive. She examines the ecological and debt burden created by overconsumption. Wexler concludes that Americans are drawn to the gargantuan from insecurity, selfishness, and an addiction to convenience. While the book is entertaining and informative, readers may wish the author had spent more time addressing the systemic problem she exposes: the emotional need Americans are attempting to fill with bling and upsizing. In addition, the lack of footnotes obscures the specific sources of her statistics. VERDICT Recommended to readers interested in pop culture and sociology, and anyone who has ever pondered the allure of the McMansion. One can't help but agree with Wexler's hope for "a more sensible-sized America-that living large might come to connote having a rich, full, satisfied life-not one measured in square footage."-Laura Ruttum, Denver (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
A sociological exploration of America's obsession with the supersized lifestyle."There's nothing wrong with our living large, nor anything particularly new about it," writes journalist and debut author Wexler, citing Manifest Destiny as historical proof of America's longtime tradition of consumption. Yet being the biggest comes with a price: "We have the largest gross domestic product and the largest gold reserves, but also the largest national debt," With size comes responsibility, and as the author recounts throughout her examination of the "largeness" of America, that responsibility is often lacking. Americans live in McMansions, attend mega-churches and demand the most plastic surgery and the largest engagement rings, all while openly celebrating their gluttony. The juxtaposition of the McMansion phenomenon alongside mega-churches offers a unique perspective on America's psyche. While McMansions are "a tangible way to show yourself and everyone else...that you're movin' on up," the appeal of mega-churches is the safety of anonymity. Wexler argues that the average American desires to stand out while simultaneously remaining unnoticed, a fascinating and unexplainable contradiction. Why do Americans prefer the anonymity of a mega-church while demanding the flashiest engagement rings? Attention is "part of why we consume big," writes the author. "A Hummer will draw more attention than a common Corolla, a McMansion more than a town house. Extra-large breast implants are a way to wordlessly, constantly shout, 'Look at me!' It's like peacocks unfurling their flashy tails." But bigger isn't necessarily better. Wexler reminds us that Americans have completely lost perspective, both literally and figuratively. Throughout the book, the author's message remains clear: In the 21st century, standing out is just another way of fitting in.Amusing and timely.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Publishers Weekly
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Wexler, a staff writer for Allure magazine, spent three years on the road, investigating America's worship at "the Church of Stuff." Wexler dives into America's new normal where bigger is better and our landscape is dominated by starter castles, Barbie boobs, megachurches and megamalls, jumbo engagement rings, mammoth cars, and landfills visible from space. By turns horrified, tempted, incredulous, guilt-ridden, mystified, and captivated by these excesses, Wexler approaches her subject with a compassion born of her own complicity (she's an SUV driver and enjoys her shopping). Though the book covers increasingly familiar postrecession "the party's over" territory with the depth of an extended magazine piece, Wexler brings a friendly first-person perspective to her study of surfeit and of the psychology behind our compulsion to consume and squander, why "living large" is defended by some as our "God-given right as Americans" and in other cases, might be downright unavoidable. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
