The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Essays on Desire and Consumption

"Katy Kelleher’s collection of essays is part history, part memoir of the precious and pretty things we consume, from gemstones and porcelain to makeup and perfume. Her lush descriptions of these objects are reason enough to recommend the book, though she writes with equal care of their painful, extractive and deadly origins. Throughout, she weaves in memories of, and musings on, her own fraught relationship with mascara and turquoise jewelry, silk clothes and gleaming countertops. Kelleher never lectures or guilt-trips, nor does she shy away from ambivalence. She assures us that to seek and covet beauty is natural and ancient, even life affirming – and that there are ways to do it that can enrich our understanding, even enhance our pleasure and maybe leave less of a mark."