Hand-Drying in America: And Other Stories — Ben Katchor

From one of the most original and imaginative American cartoonists at work today comes a collection of graphic narratives on the subjects of urban planning, product design, and architecture -- a surrealist handbook for the rebuilding of society in the twenty-first century.

Ben Katchor, a master at twisting mundane commodities into surreal objects of social significance, now takes on the many ways our property influences and reflects cultural values. Here are window-ledge pillows designed expressly for people-watching and a forest of artificial trees for sufferers of hay fever. The Brotherhood of Immaculate Consumption deals with the matter of products that outlive their owners; a school of dance is based upon the choreographic motion of paying with cash; high-visibility construction vests are marketed to lonely people as a method of getting noticed. With cutting wit Katchor reveals a world similar to our own -- lives are defined by possessions, consumerism is a kind of spirituality -- but also slightly, fabulously askew. Frequently and brilliantly bizarre, and always mesmerizing, "Hand-Drying in America" ensures that you will never look at a building, a bar of soap, or an ATM the same way.