SKU: 14983176467

The Portable Veblen

Sale price$18.36 Regular price$20.40
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $5.10 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 16 - Jul 21

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

The Portable VeblenLonglisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction Finalist for the Baileys Prize for Women's Fiction An exuberant, one of a kind novel about love and family, war and nature, new money and old values by a brilliant New Yorker contributor The Portable Veblen is a dazzlingly original novel that's as big hearted as it is laugh out loud funny. Set in and around Palo Alto, amid the culture clash of new money and old (antiestablishment) values, and

Longlisted for the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction

Finalist for the Baileys Prize for Women's Fiction

An exuberant, one-of-a-kind novel about love and family, war and nature, new money and old values by a brilliant New Yorker contributor

The Portable Veblen is a dazzlingly original novel that's as big-hearted as it is laugh-out-loud funny. Set in and around Palo Alto, amid the culture clash of new money and old (antiestablishment) values, and with the specter of our current wars looming across its pages, The Portable Veblen is an unforgettable look at the way we live now. A young couple on the brink of marriage--the charming Veblen and her fianc Paul, a brilliant neurologist--find their engagement in danger of collapse. Along the way they weather everything from each other's dysfunctional families, to the attentions of a seductive pharmaceutical heiress, to an intimate t te- -t te with a very charismatic squirrel.

Veblen (named after the iconoclastic economist Thorstein Veblen, who coined the term "conspicuous consumption") is one of the most refreshing heroines in recent fiction. Not quite liberated from the burdens of her hypochondriac, narcissistic mother and her institutionalized father, Veblen is an amateur translator and "freelance self"; in other words, she's adrift. Meanwhile, Paul--the product of good hippies who were bad parents--finds his ambition soaring. His medical research has led to the development of a device to help minimize battlefield brain trauma--an invention that gets him swept up in a high-stakes deal with the Department of Defense, a Bizarro World that McKenzie satirizes with granular specificity.

As Paul is swept up by the promise of fame and fortune, Veblen heroically keeps the peace between all the damaged parties involved in their upcoming wedding, until she finds herself falling for someone--or something--else. Throughout, Elizabeth McKenzie asks: Where do our families end and we begin? How do we stay true to our ideals? And what is that squirrel really thinking? Replete with deadpan photos and sly appendices, The Portable Veblen is at once an honest inquiry into what we look for in love and an electrifying reading experience.



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 11/01/2016
ISBN: 9781101981597
Pages: 448
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 1.40d
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 14983176467

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.8 ★★★★★
Based on 16 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
A
Verified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Birmingham, US
★★★★★ 5
Super cute
Color: Bunny (Mauve), Size: Small
Super cute and fuzzy. Definitely perfect size for a puppy and not too loud. The fur is very soft and the nose is sown on not a hard piece that can be chewed on. Very good quality too.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2026
B
Verified Purchase
Buyer
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 4
Normally amazing
Color: Spiky Ball (Blue, Orange), Size: Medium
We have purchased these slightly spiky dog balls several times for our very strong jaw heavy chewer dogs and they’ve been amazing. They don’t break down they don’t get torn apart the squeakers don’t even pop out of them. So we ordered another package because we’ve lost a few outside to the lawnmower… oops and the package that got delivered today had only one ball that squeaks and the other does not. THIS IS A PROBLEM ! Unfortunately my female dog got to the new squeaking ball first and my male got to the non-squeaking ball and he was NOT happy. Basically once they claim a ball it’s theirs and the other dogs don’t go near the ball they claimed. So he’s following my female around and every time she squeaks the ball and I’m just waiting for him to attempt to take it from her causing damage to her. Normally… These are amazingly fun, tough, durable but also squeaking balls (that’s rare in a tough ball) that my dogs absolutely love. This time just got a bad batch I guess. When they squeak the dogs LOVE them. After several months of play the squeaker might break inside of the ball but the ball never comes apart or gets damaged. And we as the owners love that they don’t break down are not able to be ripped or torn even by our very strong jawed and big jaw muscle dogs. They are also great for in the house play because they’re small enough that they fit completely inside our dog‘s mouth but obviously not small enough to get swallowed so when we throw them in the house for fetch the dogs can jump up and catch them fully in their mouth so they don’t cause any damage to the walls when they hit the walls. They’re not super heavy but they’re incredibly durable. Definitely worth the price especially if you have heavy chewers or big jaw muscle dogs.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2026
M
Verified Purchase
MADDY
Bozeman, US
★★★★★ 5
Best fun indestructible toy
Color: Crinkle Duck (Yellow), Size: Large
Truly indestructible no matter how much our oittie tries. She has owned it for three months works at destroying every day with no success. She carries it everywhere. Best purchase for chewer, more fun than the popular rubber heavy duty toy. Do not hesitate your pup will thank you for this fun distraction.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2026
P
Verified Purchase
peter contino
Omaha, US
★★★★★ 5
My dog loves this toy!
Color: Bunny (Gray), Size: Large, Color: Bunny (Gray), Size: Large
High quality, big toy, perfect for a medium to large size dog. After a few months of serious chewing I had to buy another one, but well worth the money! Rocky loves it.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2026
D
Verified Purchase
Denise Boyd
Houston, US
★★★★★ 4
Great toy but if your dog is an aggressive chewer, please think twice.
Color: Crinkle Chicken (Brown), Size: Large
I received this on May 23rd and on June 8th, after playing with this thing every day, our recently acquired 36 lb dog finally ripped it open and got out all the plastic and the squeaky part. Lily Belle will miss you, chicken. Lily loooooved this toy! She'd toss it in the air, chew on it, pull it with her teeth etc. but as much as she loved it, we won't replace it. It's just not durable enough for her. If your dog is an aggressive chewer, you might want to try a different toy. I hate that this lasted just a smidge over two weeks because Lily seemed to truly enjoy this toy. RIP, squeaky chicken!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2026

recommand products