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Wayfarer
urban studies
creative writing
All the World's a Mall

All the World's a Mall

by Rinny Gremaud

Translated by Luise von Flotow

Published by: University of Alberta Press

Series: Series: Wayfarer

152 Pages, 6" x 9"

Currency selected: Flag for CAD

CAD (Default)

Paperback
9781772127126
Publication date: September 22, 2023

PDF
9781772127218
Publication date: December 1, 2023

EPUB, Reflowable
9781772127201
Publication date: December 1, 2023

Description
Authors
Contents
Praise

All the World’s a Mall details a whirlwind world tour in five stops: Edmonton, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Casablanca, chosen because they are home to some of the biggest malls on the planet. Cities within cities, these malls are wonderlands where visitors come from afar to: walk, eat, sleep, watch, swim, ride, photograph, and, of course, shop. With a curious, critical, and sometimes ironic eye, Swiss journalist Rinny Gremaud recounts her travels to and through these monstrous spaces of excess, relaying her conversations with patrons, employees, and executives, and contemplating the effects of globalized commerce. Informative and thoughtful, exhilarating and exhausting, jet-lagged and always air conditioned, All the World’s a Mall is a truly memorable, hallucinatory adventure.

Luise von Flotow is a literary translator and a translation studies professor at the University of Ottawa.

Lausanne
Edmonton
Vancouver
Beijing
Bangkok
Dubai
Istanbul
Casablanca
Lisbon

"While the apparent goal of the narrative is to learn about the world’s largest malls, Gremaud’s journey is as much about globalization, income inequality, and the author’s own multicultural heritage as it is about shopping." Karen Sternheimer, University of Southern California

"We feel Gremaud’s exhaustion as she crosses yet another time zone, entering another mega-mall where she is unlikely to see the light of day for hours or breathe fresh air. Her observations of her fellow travellers are razor sharp." Jonathan Kaplansky, literary translator

"Any tourist can describe Burmese jungles or the snows of Kilimanjaro. It takes talent to write a travel book about shopping malls....All The World’s A Mall pops and snaps.... All The World’s A Mall is fresh and funny and sad. It is the best thing since free parking." Holly Doan, Blacklock's Reporter, November 18, 2023 [Full review at https://www.blacklocks.ca/book-review-malls-on-earth/]

Named one of the 100 Best Books of 2023 by The Hill Times, December 19, 2023

All the World's a Mall

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