One of our keenest social observers examines the deep roots--and untapped possibilities--of our newfound, all-consuming drive to reduce.
Kyle Chayka is a freelance writer and critic whose work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, New York Magazine, the New Republic, Rolling Stone, n+1, Vox, the Paris Review, and other publications. He has contributed chapters to Reading Pop Culture: A Portable Anthology and A Companion to Digital Art. Chayka is cofounder of Study Hall, a newsletter and digital community for journalists. He began his career as a visual art critic for Hyperallergic in Brooklyn, and now lives in Washington, D.C.
Kyle Chayka's fascinating new book explores not only how one might
live in a minimalist fashion, but in fact where the idea comes from
and how it's changed and adapted over the ages.
*Town & Country*
An intriguing deep dive into the many manifestations of minimalism
. . . Lively . . . Thoughtful and absorbing . . . A superb outing
from a gifted young critic that will spark joy in many readers.
*Kirkus Reviews, starred review*
Alluringly titled, Chayka's insightful book connects a wide array
of thought-provoking approaches to the concept of less is more.
*Booklist*
Kyle Chayka gently urges us to reconsider our inheritance of the
minimalist legacy while offering nuanced, profound, and then
outright dazzling angles on a subject as loved as it is
overexposed. With sophistication and subtlety, his new book
champions the necessity of critical self-examination amidst our
current cultural obsession.
*Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator, Department of Architecture &
Design, Museum of Modern Art, New York City*
More than just a story of an abiding cultural preoccupation, The
Longing For Less peels back the commodified husk of minimalism to
reveal something surprising and thoroughly alive.
*Jenny Odell, author of HOW TO DO NOTHING*
In its lightly worn learning and serious grace, The Longing for
Less functions both as a corrective to our shallow form of
minimalism and as a guide to a deeper form that still has a great
deal to teach us.
*Brian Phillips, bestselling author of IMPOSSIBLE OWLS*
Kyle Chayka nimbly weaves Zen Buddhism and Marxism with Donald Judd
and Uniqlo in this lively and sophisticated cultural history of
minimalism. He balances a critical view of the mass-market forces
churning the minimalist-goods industry with a tender consideration
of the emotions underlying it, showing how the urge for emptiness
is part of a timeless, tireless human need to reinvent the spaces
we inhabit and maximize our feeling of being alive.
*Rachel Corbett, author of YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR LIFE*
I’m no minimalist, but I am not immune to Kyle Chayka's searching,
subtle, and finally quite moving exploration of the beauty of
less.
*Luc Sante*
Don’t let the title fool you: The Longing for Less overflows. It’s
a parade of artists, architects, musicians, and philosophers, most
of them new to me, all of them fascinating. This book is generous
and wide-ranging, a genuine adventure; it's thrilling to ride along
with Kyle Chayka as he explores this terrain.
*Robin Sloan, author of MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE*
Awake to the paradoxes in our search for peace and simplicity, The
Longing for Less quietly observes, with open eyes, heart, and mind,
the spirit of iconic places and times when less has been
enough.
*Kay Larson, author of WHERE THE HEART BEATS*
In a country fueled by commodification, the act of rearranging your
dresser drawer can be billed as the beginning of a shinier, more
fulfilling life. Kyle Chayka’s impeccably built and consistently
fascinating book examines the roots of this movement, which emerges
on a loop during times of chaos, bearing aesthetic concepts as
quick-fix mantras when the world feels increasingly out of control.
Through all Chayka’s biting observations about the soothing
contours of Instagram or the platitudes of design blogs, The
Longing for Less also tenderly deconstructs the universal ache to
build a life that matters.
*Kristen Radtke, author of IMAGINE WANTING ONLY THIS*
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