Paraphernalia: The Curious Lives of Magical Things

Description

From keys and handkerchiefs to sweets and rubber bands, the curious objects we surround ourselves with, though often seemingly mundane, have a magical quality. Their surprising power to disturb, soothe, seduce or absorb give these quirky objects histories and meanings we rarely ponder. Yet we would be lost without them. Take bags, for example. Why do most women carry handbags, while men rely on pockets? Why do so many houses have bags of bags? And why do we 'let the cat out the bag' or 'give someone the sack'? What significance do our bags hold for us? In this highly imaginative and entertaining book, Steven Connor embarks on a historical, philosophical and linguistic journey that explores our relationships with the curious things with which we have a forgotten but daily intimacy.

Steven Connor is Professor of Modern Literature and Theory at Birkbeck College. He is also academic director of the London Consortium inter-disciplinary graduate programme in humanities and cultural studies. He is the author of several academic books (on subjects ranging from the English novel to ventriloquism) and contributes regularly to print media and radio. This is his first general book.

Steven Connor is among the most eloquent and original cultural critics at work today. * Daily Telegraph * Urbane, witty and seductive... challenging and often enchanting -- Michael Bywater * Independent * Ingenious, whimsical, imaginative and entertaining, this is a magical little book; a pleasurable and fidgetable stimulus to the mind. -- Iain Finlayson * The Times * Connor has a nimble wit and fresh eye -- Stuart Kelly * Scotland on Sunday * A critic and essayist of exceptional tact and daring... a writer who can seemingly conjure the profoundest insights out of the most minute or mundane topics... fascinating... witty and charming. -- Brian Dillon * Guardian * Recommended... Readers will enjoy Connor on the "eroticism of rubber", the fascination of pop-smoking, the joy of fidgeting and the relationship between spectacles and the existential drama of "self-invention". * New Statesman *