Katy Kelleher, a contributor to the Paris Review, explores our obsession with beautiful objects, revealing the complex stories behind makeup, flowers, fragrances, silk, and other beautiful items. She has dedicated much of her life to the pursuit of beauty. As a child, she would pull small purple, fragrant flowers from the ground, collect iridescent seashells from the beach, and search for turquoise stones in her yard. As a teenager, she would apply shimmering eyeshadow to her eyelids after first dabbing her signature orange blossom and jasmine perfume. As an adult, she desired gleaming marbles and fine porcelain to beautify her home.
This obsession led her to become a writer about home, garden, and design, where she studied how beautiful objects are utilized and enhanced. In her research, Kelleher concluded that most of us are blind to the true cost of our desires. In these strikingly well-researched essays, Katy Kelleher combines science, history, and memory to reveal the dark sides of our beloved products. She exposes the crushed bug shells in our lipstick, the scent of rodents in our perfume, and the burnt bones of cows in our porcelain.
Kelleher encourages readers to examine their own relationships with the beautiful objects adorning their bodies and highlighting their homes. She argues that while we have a moral obligation to understand our relationship with desire, we are not bad or weak for wanting beauty. The book "The Ugly History of Beautiful Things" opens our eyes to the beauty that surrounds us, helps us understand how this beauty came to be, what price has been paid and by whom, and how we can participate more ethically in the beauty of the world.
Pages: 272, Year of Publication: 0802, Dimensions: 15.2x15.2cm
