num_pages: 336
description: One of The New Yorker 's Books We Loved in 2017 Arbitrary Stupid Goal is a completely riveting world when I looked up from its pages regular life seemed boring and safe and modern like one big iPhone. This book captures not just a lost New York but a whole lost way of life. Miranda JulyIn Arbitrary Stupid Goal  Tamara Shopsin takes the reader on a pointillist time-travel trip to the Greenwich Village of her bohemian 1970s childhood a funky tight-knit small town in the big city long before Sex and the City tours and luxury condos. The center of Tamaras universe is Shopsins her familys legendary greasy spoon aka The Store run by her inimitable dad Kennya loquacious contrary huge-hearted man who aside from dishing up New Yorks best egg salad on rye is Village sheriff philosopher and fixer all at once. All comers find a place at Shopsins table and feast on Kennys tall tales and trenchant advice along with the incomparable chili con carne.Filled with clever illustrations and witty nostalgic photographs and graphics and told in a sly elliptical narrative that is both hilarious and endearing Arbitrary Stupid Goal is an offbeat memory-book mosaic about the secrets of living an unconventional life which is becoming a forgotten art.
language: English
title: Arbitrary Stupid Goal
publisher: MCD