SKU: 14983176467

The Portable Veblen

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The Portable VeblenLonglisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction Finalist for the Baileys Prize for Women's Fiction An exuberant, one of a kind novel about love and family, war and nature, new money and old values by a brilliant New Yorker contributor The Portable Veblen is a dazzlingly original novel that's as big hearted as it is laugh out loud funny. Set in and around Palo Alto, amid the culture clash of new money and old (antiestablishment) values, and

Longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction

Finalist for the Baileys Prize for Women's Fiction

An exuberant, one-of-a-kind novel about love and family, war and nature, new money and old values by a brilliant New Yorker contributor

The Portable Veblen is a dazzlingly original novel that's as big-hearted as it is laugh-out-loud funny. Set in and around Palo Alto, amid the culture clash of new money and old (antiestablishment) values, and with the specter of our current wars looming across its pages, The Portable Veblen is an unforgettable look at the way we live now. A young couple on the brink of marriage--the charming Veblen and her fianc Paul, a brilliant neurologist--find their engagement in danger of collapse. Along the way they weather everything from each other's dysfunctional families, to the attentions of a seductive pharmaceutical heiress, to an intimate t te- -t te with a very charismatic squirrel.

Veblen (named after the iconoclastic economist Thorstein Veblen, who coined the term "conspicuous consumption") is one of the most refreshing heroines in recent fiction. Not quite liberated from the burdens of her hypochondriac, narcissistic mother and her institutionalized father, Veblen is an amateur translator and "freelance self"; in other words, she's adrift. Meanwhile, Paul--the product of good hippies who were bad parents--finds his ambition soaring. His medical research has led to the development of a device to help minimize battlefield brain trauma--an invention that gets him swept up in a high-stakes deal with the Department of Defense, a Bizarro World that McKenzie satirizes with granular specificity.

As Paul is swept up by the promise of fame and fortune, Veblen heroically keeps the peace between all the damaged parties involved in their upcoming wedding, until she finds herself falling for someone--or something--else. Throughout, Elizabeth McKenzie asks: Where do our families end and we begin? How do we stay true to our ideals? And what is that squirrel really thinking? Replete with deadpan photos and sly appendices, The Portable Veblen is at once an honest inquiry into what we look for in love and an electrifying reading experience.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 11/01/2016
ISBN: 9781101981597
Pages: 448
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 1.40d
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SKU: 14983176467

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Tamondo
Lake Worth, US
★★★★★ 5
A Solid Buy
Size: XX-Large, Color: Black
Purchased this shirt to wear to a concert. I love the material because it's stretchy and flexible unlike the traditional cotton. It's mainly wrinkle free but I ran a warm iron to get out the creases from being folded. I wore this with gray pants and it made my outfit feel put together. The sleeves are very easy to roll up and won't come undone. A very nice shirt to add to your clothing collection.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2026
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J. Samson
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 4
Good looking shirt that runs a bit big in sizing.
Size: X-Large, Color: Green Gray
Nice looking shirt for dress up or casual wearing. Feels like silk, pretty wrinkle free. Lots of colors to chose from at a good price. Runs a bit big in size. I found the sleeves very long for me. But I like the casual look, feel and coolness in the heat of summer for a long sleeve shirt.
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Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2025
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Guy
Whiting, US
★★★★★ 5
Good shirt
Size: X-Large, Color: Sky Blue
Good fitting shirt. Looked good just like image shows
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Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2026
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Gloria Gina
Bozeman, US
★★★★★ 5
I wear a medium and it fit perfect in all areas
Size: Medium, Color: Coffee
Best shirt for fit, comfort, style and price
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Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2026
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franklin
New York, US
★★★★★ 3
much different color shade.
Size: Medium, Color: Coffee
color I received is much darker than what is advertised.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2026

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