Essays on Desire and Consumption
February 20, 2023
Science writer Kelleher (Handcrafted Maine) delivers grimly illuminating essays about the unseemly processes that produce beautiful goods. She examines what’s required to bring such luxuries as gems, makeup, marble, mirrors, pearls, perfume, and silk to market and contemplates their appeal. Musk, she notes, used to be harvested by killing deer and extracting their pungent glandular sacs; natural musk has largely been replaced by chemical substitutes, but studies suggest these artificial fragrances disrupt hormone functioning and might cause tumors. Waxing philosophical about the draw of mirrors, she links the madness that came over early mirror makers, who inhaled the fumes of the mercury they melted to create reflective surfaces, with the “insidious” “cultural obsession with looks” that mirrors enabled. Kelleher eloquently interrogates the allure of luxury items even as she remains clear-eyed about the damaging social expectations that drive their value, as when she admits she gets a “thrill” from makeup shopping despite knowing it’s motivated by unrealistic beauty standards that cause women to “exercise our desire until it becomes the strongest muscle in our hearts.” The author’s perceptive analysis and self-reflection raise intriguing questions about consumerism, aesthetics, and gendered understandings of beauty. The result is a thoughtful offering as precious as the goods studied.
August 1, 2023
Art, design, and science writer Kelleher (Handcrafted Maine) offers a series of essays examining the underside of beauty. These essays, narrated with clarity and emotion by Cindy Kay, speak to people's instinctive desire for beauty and the manufactured desire for specific things deemed beautiful. Kelleher combines science, history, and memoir to describe desirability and the ugly truth about how beautiful things are made and obtained. The book delves into the history of products often considered beautiful, including glass, gemstones, cosmetics, textiles, mirrors, pearls, perfumes, and more. Beauty comes at a cost, however. The author piercingly describes how these luxury items damage the earth, exploit those who obtain raw materials, and benefit only a privileged few. While these items may provide pleasure, Kelleher emphasizes that the natural world is already full of beauty, and it is possible--and necessary--to experience beauty without possessing it. VERDICT A fascinating look at the history of beautiful things and how they came to be considered so while implacably revealing the ugliness beneath the veneer. Thought-provoking and earnestly narrated; recommended for all collections.--Joanna M. Burkhardt
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