Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

As a self-professed lapsed philosopher, always on the cusp of finishing her PhD at Harvard, Becca Rothfeld's collection of essays wavers between challenging and cerebral analysis with very sweaty, human feelings wading though our current culture. At times it can make for a challenging read, and whether I'm interpreting it "correctly" or not it still opened up an interesting line of thinking.

Rothfeld is arguing for excess while throwing Sally Rooney, Marie Kondo, and American Puritanism under the bus. It's a reaction to our current obsession with minimalism (that may have been a reaction to the excesses of the '80's) which is tied to the precarity many of us feel at this point in late-stage capitalism. Let us embrace and demand more for ourselves.

I also loved her response to the trend to just "Shhh. Let people enjoy things" which seems especially prescient in this time of peak mid and the constant enshittification of media. Some things are just bad. Taste demands better. This egalitarian pose we seem intent on applying to everything just falls apart when faced with love, which is "at its root a species of prejudice."

Becca is admittedly a bit extra and mentions a suicide attempt, online stalking an ex's new girl, and her very visceral feelings when initially dating her now husband - but I appreciate the on-brand personal narrative. Why not demand more of everything, mess and all.