Tinsel
A Search for America's Christmas Present
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · November 11, 2010
In Tinsel, Hank Stuever turns his unerring eye for the idiosyncrasies of modern life to Frisco, Texas—a suburb at once all-American and completely itself—to tell the story of the nation’s most over-the-top celebration: Christmas.
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- Who it’s for
- A wry, humane look at how one Texas suburb makes Christmas larger than life.
- Themes
- Christmas consumer culture, Community life, Holiday traditions
- Genres
- Holidays & Celebrations, Pop Culture Studies, Humor
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In Tinsel, Hank Stuever turns his unerring eye for the idiosyncrasies of modern life to Frisco, Texas—a suburb at once all-American and completely itself—to tell the story of the nation’s most over-the-top celebration: Christmas. Stuever’s tale begins on the blissful easy-credit dawn of Black Friday, as he jostles for bargains among the crowds at the big-box stores. From there he follows Frisco’s true believers as they navigate through three years of holiday drama.
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Tammie Parnell is the proprietor of “Two Elves with a Twist,” a company that decks the halls of other people’s McMansions. Jeff and Bridgette Trykoski spend eleven months preparing the visible-from-space, awe-inspiring light display they stage on their lawn each December. And single mother Caroll Cavazos, a devout churchgoer, hopes that the life-affirming moments of the season can transcend her everyday struggles. Tinsel is a humane, revealing, and very funny portrait of one community’s quest to discover a more perfect holiday amidst the frenzied, mega-churchy, shoparific world of Christmas.
Holiday, Up Close
A wry, humane look at how one Texas suburb makes Christmas larger than life.
Come here for
- The comedy and strain of holiday excess
- A close-up of belief, spectacle, and everyday life
Expect
- A humane portrait with a sharp eye for modern absurdity
- Three years among Frisco’s Christmas true believers
Where it sits
| Pop Culture Studies | 48% |
|---|---|
| Holidays & Celebrations | 43% |
| Humor | 40% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Personal Memoirs
- World History
- Social History
- Humor
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Humor Essays
- Christian Holidays
- Psychology of Religion
- Religion & Science
- Authors
- Hank Stuever
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- November 11, 2010
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Christmas consumer culture · Community life · Holiday traditions
- Reading lane
- Personal Memoirs