{"product_id":"a-sense-of-things-the-object-matter-of-american-literature-paperback","title":"A Sense of Things: The Object Matter of American Literature - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eBill Brown\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn May 1906, the \u003ci\u003eAtlantic Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e commented that Americans live not merely in an age of things, but under the tyranny of them, and that in our relentless effort to sell, purchase, and accumulate things, we do not possess them as much as they possess us. For Bill Brown, the tale of that possession is something stranger than the history of a culture of consumption. It is the story of Americans using things to think about themselves. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Brown's captivating new study explores the roots of modern America's fascination with things and the problem that objects posed for American literature at the turn of the century. This was an era when the invention, production, distribution, and consumption of things suddenly came to define a national culture. Brown shows how crucial novels of the time made things not a solution to problems, but problems in their own right. Writers such as Mark Twain, Frank Norris, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Henry James ask why and how we use objects to make meaning, to make or remake ourselves, to organize our anxieties and affections, to sublimate our fears, and to shape our wildest dreams. Offering a remarkably new way to think about materialism, \u003ci\u003eA Sense of Things\u003c\/i\u003e will be essential reading for anyone interested in American literature and culture.\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn May 1906, the \u003ci\u003eAtlantic Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e commented that Americans live not merely in an age of things, but under the tyranny of them, and that in our relentless effort to sell, purchase, and accumulate things, we do not possess them as much as they possess us. For Bill Brown, the tale of that possession is something stranger than the history of a culture of consumption. It is the story of Americans using things to think about themselves. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBrown's captivating new study explores the roots of modern America's fascination with things and the problem that objects posed for American literature at the turn of the century. This was an era when the invention, production, distribution, and consumption of things suddenly came to define a national culture. Brown shows how crucial novels of the time made things not a solution to problems, but problems in their own right. Writers such as Mark Twain, Frank Norris, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Henry James ask why and how we use objects to make meaning, to make or remake ourselves, to organize our anxieties and affections, to sublimate our fears, and to shape our wildest dreams. Offering a remarkably new way to think about materialism, \u003ci\u003eA Sense of Things\u003c\/i\u003e will be essential reading for anyone interested in American literature and culture.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBill Brown\u003c\/b\u003e is the George M. Pullman Professor of English at the University of Chicago. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Material Unconscious: American Amusement, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eStephen Crane, and the Economies of Play\u003c\/i\u003e, editor of \u003ci\u003eReading the West: An Anthology of Dime Westerns\u003c\/i\u003e, and coeditor of \u003ci\u003eCritical Inquiry\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 260\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 8.88 x 6.04 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 01, 2004\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45259970871398,"sku":"9780226076294","price":59.42,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0599\/7255\/0758\/files\/WTB4YVdtTEV2ODdKMEJUMGJESngxZz09.webp?v=1773859834","url":"https:\/\/infinitylightwa.com\/products\/a-sense-of-things-the-object-matter-of-american-literature-paperback","provider":"Infinity Light","version":"1.0","type":"link"}