This book works on two levels. On one hand, it is a parody of the classifications that are used in sciences, such as the classifications of plants and animals. On the other hand, it is a photography book that shows shopping carts in different environments.
From my (European) point of view, the book works much better as a photography book. It shows the kind of American suburbia and nature that you rarely see on TV: abandoned buildings, garbage lots and industrial areas. Many of the pictures are also taken during the fall, winter or spring, when the nature of this area is quite dead and ugly, including the occasional piles of dirty snow. Some of the pictures also show something essential about American culture and values: a shopping cart abandoned next to a building, and on the building wall, there's a poster that reads "BUFFALO FOR JESUS". A shopping cart in some private person's garage, and in the background, there's a sign that reads "WELCOME HOME JOHN" - considering the star decorations in it, perhaps it was a greeting for a soldier who was coming back home from the other side of the world. And then it ended up in the garage among all sorts of junk.
The humor doesn't work very well, though. Although the classifications for shopping carts are insightful as such, the descriptions tend to be rather dry.
I was also expecting some sort of social analysis of the life cycle of shopping carts, perhaps also something about their history. But there is none. And in the end, many of the photos are quite similar too. A lone, broken shopping cart on the top of a dirty pile of snow; I feel that I should see some human characteristics in it. But I don't. In that sense, many of the pictures don't quite deliver what I expected, either.
This book is essential for anyone who collects weird books just for the heck of it. But others might pass - there are funnier things out there, and if you are looking for artistic photography, there are many better books available in that genre too.
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E.M. Marin
Not as good as I expected
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2012Verified Purchase
S. Rouse
Brilliantly weird and sustained
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2014Verified Purchase
Giena
Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 19, 2014Verified Purchase
Paul Alves
Okay, originally I bought this as a gag gift ...
Reviewed in Canada on March 29, 2016Verified Purchase
Barnabus Marsh
Changed my life
Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2020Verified Purchase
