| Notes: [CRITICISM]. Duncan Smith. "The Age of Oil." New York: Slate Press, 1987. First edition. English language. Softcover. An essay collection of cultural criticism. 7 3/4 x 5 1/4 inches. 8 oz. [6] 176 pp. Slight shelf-wear. Text clean. Great condition. Near Fine. ISBN: 096161935X. "Typically, Smith’s essays begin with a fragment extracted from everyday existence, a common phrase, an object, an encounter, which he then subjects to a series of variations and deformations that draw on classical rhetoric and psychoanalysis. The departure point for 'Reflection on Rhetoric in Bars' is Smith and a friend being pushed out of a bar at closing time. 'Why Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend' unpacks the cliched phrase of the title. The brief text 'On Wit' meditates on the significance of the popping of a champagne cork. Smith’s most favored source, however, is the entertainment industry. The first essay in 'The Age of Oil,' for instance, offers an explanation of Elvis Presley’s propensity to give away expensive cars, which Smith traces back to the singer’s obsession with his mother and his twin brother who died at birth. As in much of Smith’s writing, 'An Interpretation of Elvis’s Car Giving' hinges on proper names, and frequently resorts to italics." |