MOMENTAN AUSVERKAUFT
Über dieses Produkt
Product Identifiers
PublisherHarperCollins
ISBN-10006243487X
ISBN-139780062434876
eBay Product ID (ePID)16038202840
Product Key Features
Book TitleSunshine State : Essays
Number of Pages384 Pages
LanguageEnglish
TopicWomen Authors, United States / State & Local / South (Al, Ar, Fl, Ga, Ky, La, ms, Nc, SC, Tn, VA, WV), Literary, Essays
Publication Year2017
GenreBiography & Autobiography, Literary Collections, History
AuthorSarah Gerard
FormatTrade Paperback
Dimensions
Item Height0.9 in
Item Weight10.3 Oz
Item Length8 in
Item Width5.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceTrade
LCCN2017-296465
Dewey Edition23
ReviewsGerard's writing has been described as 'unflinching,' but perhaps the better terms are 'generous' and 'patient.' Her patience is what gets her close enough to her subjects that she can round them out, exhibit their complexities, and her generosity is what keeps her from mocking them…. [The essays] work together to subvert the most common tropes about Florida's antic madness. Instead they focus on humanizing the state's inhabitants-inhabitants with hopes and dreams, who cope with systemic and visceral issues… who would ordinarily be flattened into condescending headlines., Some essays… are strong, deeply researched journalism, distinguished by Gerard's empathy for the subjects…. In [others], she deftly weaves together chapters from her family's history with wider historical narratives…. In embracing a wide range of subject matter and styles, she creates not only a candid portrait of herself and her family, but unearths bigger truths about the lure and the hardships of life in Florida and the world., One of the breakout American independent books of the year. Gerard handles her subject matter-the cavernous nature of relationships, politics, the material and psychological condition of the body-with the care of an author who refuses to write down to her readers., The author goes home in Gerard's thorough, personal, and well-researched collection of essays on Florida, its inhabitants, and the ways they prey upon each another., Eight carefully researched, beautifully patterned, and vividly written essays…. Emotion-rich scenes from Gerard's life stand alongside straightforward descriptions of historical events unencumbered by editorializing…. This thematic ambiguity and avoidance of the pithy message are qualities-in addition to the effective use of autobiographical scenes-that some of Gerard's essays share with those of Joan Didion… [and] turns the book into an Everlasting Gobstopper for thought. Also like Didion's essays (when they first appeared), Gerard's are records of a recent past that will soon enough feel like history., Haunting… Radiates Beauty…. 'Binary Star' is imparted through the terse, arresting observations of its main character.... Gerard captures the beauty and scientific irony of damaged relationships and ephemeral heavenly lights. Just as with the stars, it is collapse that offers the most illumination., Gerard has produced a powerful, poetic, and widely relatable novel that eludes easy classification., Perfectly captures the idiosyncrasies of the Gulf Coast… [filled with] tragic-comic characters who embody the state's combination of beauty, sadness, hope, and greed.…. The collection is part reportage, part millennial love letter to lost youth, a native daughter's attempt to sharpen her understanding of self against the whetstone of history and society…. What slowly emerges throughout the course of Gerard's searching is a clear-eyed dismantling of the American dream: the idea that we are the individual architects of our fates, each with the power to will for ourselves the lives we want, the abundance we desire - wealth we trust will lead to true happiness., Sarah Gerard's sparkling essays-as-memoir is as multifaceted as Florida itself. Navigating intense friendships, her family's unconventional faith, a flirtation with Amway, tattoos, drugs, boyfriends and a husband, a homeless shelter and a bird sanctuary run by a corrupt madman, Gerhard is wide-eyed yet fully present, blunt yet empathetic to not only the crazy swirl of characters that surround her, but to herself in formation. A tough, honest, beautiful work by one of our brightest and most unflinching young writers., Praise for Binary Star: "The particular genius of 'Binary Star' is that out of such grim material it constructs beauty. It's like a novel-shaped poem about addiction, codependence and the relentlessness of the everyday, a kind of elegy of emptiness.", It takes someone with orange juice in their veins and alligators in their heart to truly bring the lessons of a place as complex as Florida to bear… [ Sunshine State ] dissects what Florida means to the United States with a nuance and complexity only someone who has lived in it-and, just as importantly, moved away from itcan provide…. Listing the home's elevation, an accurate certificate is requisite to assessing the home's risk of flood damage or, in the case of Florida, its chances of surviving into the next few decades…. Florida is the nation's elevation certificate; consider Gerard our realtor., Sunshine State is a sort of memoir, its essays ranging widely in style and degree of intimacy…. [The title essay] is a haunting story… that Gerard tells with insight and skill… the first essay, 'BFF,' a simmering prose poem…. Florida is often played for laughs in literature, but Gerard knows it too well to do anything that simple. The shadows bring depth., Like their narrator, these sentences seem conscious of the weight they accrue as they gather…. Counterbalancing its heaviness, the prose also achieves a certain ecstasy of lightness, of breathless possibility., Gerard demonstrates how the insanities and inanities of Florida serve as a microcosm of America, in all its fractured, complicated beauty and darkness., [Gerard] inserts herself into her stories in both highly personal ways and as a second party observer, leaving the reader with a map of her internal landscape as well as a Floridian topography. The combined effect is a bird's eye view of the state at large. In Gerard's work, the body is made of star stuff. The personal is political., Poignant and unflinching personal essays… paint a portrait of a state ravaged by economic hardship but enriched by cultural diversity…. [A] brilliant first collection., Explores everything from body dysmorphia and bulimia, to onslaught of ads and social media and desire for consumption, to damaging relationships and phobias and trepidation over the future, to simply wanting more from life…. Wield[s] such a familiar range of personal terror in a vibrant, addictive display of prose., An intense, poetic, deeply original look at bodies, consumerism, and the way we strive to connect with one another, even through distance and dysfunction., Sunshine State treats Florida... as a frame of mind, a psychoactive landscape through which to wander, poking what Gerard sees until she can make sense of it. Her essays live in the nonfiction borderland, testing the limits of truth and fact. This is what gives it its momentum and deftness.... Florida stands in for the American psyche, which is bleak and badly damaged... using facts alongside imagination and memory, of the country as it is, in order to understand how we got here, and where we're going next., Sarah Gerard brings an immersion journalist's acuity and shrewdness to essays made urgent by a native daughter's alloy of sympathy and rage. Capacious and captivating, Sunshine State gets Florida right-and dead to rights-while breathing fresh life into the shoe-leather memoir., For those who fear Florida is comprised primarily of gators and the insane, this book may seem like it was written for you. In many ways, it surely was, giving life and voice to a world which has previously not held much acreage in your mind. But at its core, Sunshine State is a love letter to the wild and fascinating land itself, and the cast of characters who call it home., Gerard has written characters, in lyrical and deeply affecting prose, who are burned out and burning up what substance they have just to be known to each other., [A] remarkable debut novel…. Partly novelistic, partly poetical, partly meditative, Binary Star is a beautiful inversion… where bodies stand not as replacements for planets or asteroids or gravitational pulls, but where stars and black holes and galaxies stand, instead, for bodies…. A bold work about taboos., Sarah Gerard's Sunshine State probes at the fringes of society, the intersection of right and wrong, the private core of our fundamental self-definitions. Sarah's compassionate and boundlessly curious essay collection drives always toward truth, even when that truth is hard to bear. An unforgettable book, by a writer with a powerful, essential American voice., Gerard is able to strike a careful balance between the real-world issue of eating disorders and sheer, emotional punch…. Rhythmic, hallucinatory, yet vivid as crystal. Gerard has channeled her trials and tribulations into a work of heightened reality, one that sings to the lonely gravity of the human body., Sparse and lean, Gerard's writing hurtles forward with a momentum that seems bent on burning up, much like the stars her protagonist studies. It's a novel that takes risks, both in style and subject matter., One of the themes of 'Sunshine State,' Sarah Gerard's striking book of essays, is how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease…. The first essay is a knockout, a lurid red heart wrapped in barbed wire.... This essay draws blood., Gerard's prose is unlabored, flatly observational, and the interwoven mini stories are at once tender and cold, exhilarating and regrettable-each undermining the one that precedes it., Combining journalism and memoir, Gerard... brings a sharp eye to recollections of growing up on Florida's Gulf Coast.... An intimate journey reveals a Florida few visitors would ever discover.
Dewey Decimal814/.6
SynopsisLonglisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay * Finalist for the Southern Book Prize A New York Times Critics' Best Books of the Year * An NPR Best Book of the Year * A NYLON Best Nonfiction Book of the Year * A Buzzfeed Best Nonfiction Book of the Year * An Entrophy Magazine Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year * A Brooklyn Rail Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year * A Baltimore Beat Best Book of the Year A Paris Review Staff Pick * A Chicago Tribune Exciting Book for 2017 * A Rolling Stone Culture Index Reccomendation * A Buzzfeed Most Exciting Book for 2017 * A The Millions Great 2017 Book Preview Pick * A Huffington Post 2017 Preview Pick * A NYLON Best 10 Books of the Month * A Lit Hub 15 Books to Read This Month A Poets & Writers New and Noteworth Selection * A PW Top 10 Spring Pick in Essays & Literary Criticism * An Emma Straub Reccomendation on PBS "One of the themes of 'Sunshine State,' Sarah Gerard's striking book of essays, is how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease.... The first essay is a knockout, a lurid red heart wrapped in barbed wire.... This essay draws blood." -- Dwight Garner, New York Times "Unflinchingly candid memoir bolstered by thoughtfully researched history.... A nuanced and subtly intimate mosaic... her writing, lucid yet atmospheric, takes on a timeless ebb and flow." -- Jason Heller, NPR.org "Stunning." -- Rolling Stone "These large-hearted, meticulous essays offer an uncanny x-ray of our national psyche... showing us both the grand beauty of our American dreams and the heartbreaking devastation they wreak." -- Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You Sarah Gerard follows her breakout novel, Binary Star, with the dynamic essay collection Sunshine State, which explores Florida as a microcosm of the most pressing economic and environmental perils haunting our society. In the collection's title essay, Gerard volunteers at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a world renowned bird refuge. There she meets its founder, who once modeled with a pelican on his arm for a Dewar's Scotch campaign but has since declined into a pit of fraud and madness. He becomes our embezzling protagonist whose tales about the birds he "rescues" never quite add up. Gerard's personal stories are no less eerie or poignant: An essay that begins as a look at Gerard's first relationship becomes a heart-wrenching exploration of acquaintance rape and consent. An account of intimate female friendship pivots midway through, morphing into a meditation on jealousy and class. With the personal insight of The Empathy Exams, the societal exposal of Nickel and Dimed, and the stylistic innovation and intensity of her own break-out debut novel Binary Star, Sarah Gerard's Sunshine State uses the intimately personal to unearth the deep reservoirs of humanity buried in the corners of our world often hardest to face., Longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay A New York Times Critics' Best Books of the Year - An NPR Best Book of the Year - A NYLON Best Nonfiction Book of the Year - A Buzzfeed Best Nonfiction Book of the Year - An Entrophy Magazine Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year - A Brooklyn Rail Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year - A Baltimore Beat Best Book of the Year A Paris Review Staff Pick - A Chicago Tribune Exciting Book for 2017 - A Rolling Stone Culture Index Reccomendation - A Buzzfeed Most Exciting Book for 2017 - A The Millions Great 2017 Book Preview Pick - A Huffington Post 2017 Preview Pick - A NYLON Best 10 Books of the Month - A Lit Hub 15 Books to Read This Month A Poets & Writers New and Noteworth Selection - A PW Top 10 Spring Pick in Essays & Literary Criticism - An Emma Straub Reccomendation on PBS "One of the themes of 'Sunshine State, ' Sarah Gerard's striking book of essays, is how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease.... The first essay is a knockout, a lurid red heart wrapped in barbed wire.... This essay draws blood." -- Dwight Garner, New York Times "Unflinchingly candid memoir bolstered by thoughtfully researched history.... A nuanced and subtly intimate mosaic... her writing, lucid yet atmospheric, takes on a timeless ebb and flow." -- Jason Heller, NPR.org "Stunning." -- Rolling Stone "These large-hearted, meticulous essays offer an uncanny x-ray of our national psyche... showing us both the grand beauty of our American dreams and the heartbreaking devastation they wreak." -- Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You Sarah Gerard follows her breakout novel, Binary Star , with the dynamic essay collection Sunshine State , which explores Florida as a microcosm of the most pressing economic and environmental perils haunting our society. In the collection's title essay, Gerard volunteers at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a world renowned bird refuge. There she meets its founder, who once modeled with a pelican on his arm for a Dewar's Scotch campaign but has since declined into a pit of fraud and madness. He becomes our embezzling protagonist whose tales about the birds he "rescues" never quite add up. Gerard's personal stories are no less eerie or poignant: An essay that begins as a look at Gerard's first relationship becomes a heart-wrenching exploration of acquaintance rape and consent. An account of intimate female friendship pivots midway through, morphing into a meditation on jealousy and class. With the personal insight of The Empathy Exams , the societal exposal of Nickel and Dimed , and the stylistic innovation and intensity of her own break-out debut novel Binary Star , Sarah Gerard's Sunshine State uses the intimately personal to unearth the deep reservoirs of humanity buried in the corners of our world often hardest to face., Longlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay - Finalist for the Southern Book Prize A New York Times Critics' Best Books of the Year - An NPR Best Book of the Year - A NYLON Best Nonfiction Book of the Year - A Buzzfeed Best Nonfiction Book of the Year - An Entrophy Magazine Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year - A Brooklyn Rail Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year - A Baltimore Beat Best Book of the Year A Paris Review Staff Pick - A Chicago Tribune Exciting Book for 2017 - A Rolling Stone Culture Index Reccomendation - A Buzzfeed Most Exciting Book for 2017 - A The Millions Great 2017 Book Preview Pick - A Huffington Post 2017 Preview Pick - A NYLON Best 10 Books of the Month - A Lit Hub 15 Books to Read This Month A Poets & Writers New and Noteworth Selection - A PW Top 10 Spring Pick in Essays & Literary Criticism - An Emma Straub Reccomendation on PBS "One of the themes of 'Sunshine State, ' Sarah Gerard's striking book of essays, is how Florida can unmoor you and make you reach for shoddy, off-the-shelf solutions to your psychic unease.... The first essay is a knockout, a lurid red heart wrapped in barbed wire.... This essay draws blood." -- Dwight Garner, New York Times "Unflinchingly candid memoir bolstered by thoughtfully researched history.... A nuanced and subtly intimate mosaic... her writing, lucid yet atmospheric, takes on a timeless ebb and flow." -- Jason Heller, NPR.org "Stunning." -- Rolling Stone "These large-hearted, meticulous essays offer an uncanny x-ray of our national psyche... showing us both the grand beauty of our American dreams and the heartbreaking devastation they wreak." -- Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You Sarah Gerard follows her breakout novel, Binary Star , with the dynamic essay collection Sunshine State , which explores Florida as a microcosm of the most pressing economic and environmental perils haunting our society. In the collection's title essay, Gerard volunteers at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a world renowned bird refuge. There she meets its founder, who once modeled with a pelican on his arm for a Dewar's Scotch campaign but has since declined into a pit of fraud and madness. He becomes our embezzling protagonist whose tales about the birds he "rescues" never quite add up. Gerard's personal stories are no less eerie or poignant: An essay that begins as a look at Gerard's first relationship becomes a heart-wrenching exploration of acquaintance rape and consent. An account of intimate female friendship pivots midway through, morphing into a meditation on jealousy and class. With the personal insight of The Empathy Exams , the societal exposal of Nickel and Dimed , and the stylistic innovation and intensity of her own break-out debut novel Binary Star , Sarah Gerard's Sunshine State uses the intimately personal to unearth the deep reservoirs of humanity buried in the corners of our world often hardest to face.
LC Classification NumberPS3607.E7285A6 2017
