by Bill Geist
First published 1987
Bill Geist turns his newspaper columnist's eye toward the peculiar world of American suburbia. Drawing from his work at the New York Times, Geist examines how one-third of Americans actually live in their manicured neighborhoods. He catalogs the strange customs that govern suburban life, from the seasonal rituals that mark time to the unspoken rules about lawns and leisure. Geist explores how suburbanites celebrate their holidays, what they grow in their gardens, how they dress and feed themselves, and what games they play. The zucchini plague itself becomes a symbol of suburban abundance gone wrong, when backyard gardens produce more vegetables than anyone knows what to do with. Through his observations, Geist reveals the gap between suburban dreams and suburban reality. His tales capture the absurdities of trying to create paradise in planned communities, where conformity battles individuality and nature gets tamed into neat squares of grass.
Genres: satire, american-fiction, humor, contemporary
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: satire, social-commentary
Setting: Suburbia, United States
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
275 pages · Paperback · Fireside