A fun, sophisticated illustrated collection of essays that catalogs the simple and not so simple pleasures of the eclectic world of candy from the award-winning author of After the Eclipse. With illustrations by Forsyth Harmon. A taxonomy of sweetness, a rhapsody of artificial flavors, and a multi-faceted theory of pleasure, Sweet Nothings is made up of one hundred illustrated micro essays organized by candy color, from the red of Pop Rocks to the purple Jelly Bonbon in the Whitman's Sampler. Each entry is a meditation on taste and texture, a memory unlocked. Everyone's favorites--and least favorites--are carefully considered, including Snickers and Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Cups, as well as the beloved Good n' Plenty and Werther's Originals. An expert guide and exquisite writer, Sarah Perry asks such pressing questions as: Twizzlers or Red Vines? Why are Mentos eaters so maniacally happy? And in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, how could Edmund sell out his siblings for, of all things, Turkish delight? She rejects the dreaded "What is your favorite candy?" question and counters: Under what circumstances? F The question itself is flawed--favorite under what circumstances? In what weather? On the road, or at home? In what mood? For candy is inextricably tied to the seasons of our lives. Sweet Nothings moves associatively, touching on pop culture, art, culinary history, philosophy, body image, and class-based food moralism. It challenges the very idea of "junk" food and posits taking pleasure seriously as a means of survival. Sarah Perry's pure love of candy weaves together elegiac glimpses of her 90s childhood--and the loss at its center--with stories of love and desire. Surprisingly smart and frequently funny, Sweet Nothings is a tart and sweet ode to finding small joys where you can. Yes, even in black licorice.

サラ・ペリーが綴るのは、単なる菓子のカタログではありません。キャンディという卑近な対象をレンズに、個人の記憶や階級、そして「愉悦」という名の生存戦略を解剖する、極めて知的なエッセイ集です。甘美な人工フレーバーの裏側に、九〇年代の喪失感や根源的な欲望を潜ませるその筆致は、実に鮮やかで挑発的です。 本書の真髄は、ジャンクフードという概念を打ち破り、日常の小さな喜びを肯定する哲学にあります。百の断章が織りなす五感を揺さぶる叙事詩は、読む者の魂を鼓舞します。読後は、見過ごしてきた安価な甘味が、人生の重層的な美しさを象徴する愛おしい断片へと変貌を遂げているはずです。