In this dynamic new collection of essays, critically acclaimed author Roisin Kiberd dissects the business of attaining perfection or even normality - through consumption and body modification. Kiberd explores how fashion, fragrance, and beauty standards serve as tools for self-invention, allowing us to mask our vulnerabilities or perform specific social identities. Linking her personal experiences with Botox and eating disorders to broader phenomena, she explores subcultures including the underground drag scene and competitive dog shows to better understand how differing groups define and judge excellence. From Westport to Paris, Dublin to Berlin, Versailles to the Ringsend Recycling Centre, Kiberd takes us on a journey of obsession with an unanticipated answer to the question: am I normal yet?
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ROISIN KIBERD has written essays and features for The Dublin Review, Winter Papers, The White Review, The Guardian and Vice. Her first book, The Disconnect: A Personal Journey Through the Internet, was published in 2021. She lectures in creative writing at the University of Galway and is non-fiction editor at The Stinging Fly.
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Seller: Kennys Bookstore, Olney, MD, U.S.A.
Condition: New. 2026. paperback. . . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland. Seller Inventory # 9781915290229
Seller: Kennys Bookshop and Art Galleries Ltd., Galway, GY, Ireland
Condition: New. 2026. paperback. . . . . . Seller Inventory # 9781915290229
Quantity: Over 20 available