Bookworm
Elizabeth McKenzie: The Portable Veblen
Elizabeth McKenzie's half screwball romantic comedy and half critique of the conspicuous consumption of the leisure class, featuring a heroine named after the depressive American economist Thorstein Veblen and a cast that includes advice-giving squirrels.
By Michael Silverblatt • • 29m ListenHalf screwball romantic comedy and half critique of the conspicuous consumption of the leisure class, The Portable Veblen(Penguin Press) features a heroine named after the depressive American economist Thorstein Veblen and a cast that includes advice-giving squirrels. Yes, you read that correctly. Elizabeth McKenzie talks about how, with such whimsical elements, she managed to write a deeply melancholic book. She also tells us why she decided to give this charming and alarming mixture a happy ending.
Read an excerpt from The Portable Veblen.
Photo: © Linda Ozaki
