Anthropology of an American Girl - Softcover

Amazon Best Books of the Month, June 2010: Eveline Auerbach, the heroine of Anthropology of an American Girl, observes at one point that "pain becomes its own story." That may be the best way to begin talking about Hilary Thayer Hamann's arresting and provocative coming-of-age novel, set against the twilight years of Eveline's adolescence and the dawn of the 1980s--a decade made all the more infamous by books like American Psycho and Bright Lights, Big City. Hamann's 600-page epic is a worthy and welcome successor to those novels, as it charts the wistful and unsteady course of a girl experiencing the often brutal paradox of being a woman. Eveline is a curious soul. Much of her story unfolds in interior monologues that display how acutely--and how honestly--she observes herself and the men who lay claim to her, and no thought of hers is left unturned: she reflects with great tenderness both the guileless narcissism and the strange liberty of being young. Anthropology of an American Girl is an accomplished and absorbing work of fiction, resonant and romantic in the grandest sense, that will remind you what a great American novel really is. --Anne Bartholomew

Vernacular Press intends for this first edition of "Anthropology of an American Girl" to become a collector's item. We believe that books have become too disposable, and that people often pay more than 20 dollars for books they will not be able to keep. We wanted to make a keepsake. The integrity of Anthropology's content and the integrity of its target audience deserve the investment.

Here are the specifications:

100 point binder's board wrapped in Ernstmeier imported German book cloth, stamped with copper dies, using Nakai Japanese imported foil leaf. End leaves printed 2 PMS colors on Ikono dull cream stock. The uncoated text paper is matching 500 ppi Glatfelter offset. The text is Smythe-sewn with black thread. The quotes that appear on the end leaf are "staff favorites" that were taken from various parts of the story.

Vernacular Press is an independent publishing company dedicated to producing books of beauty. Vernacular’s parent, Match Fine Print, is an established commercial design and production firm which counts advertising agencies and luxury goods manufacturers among its clients.