{"product_id":"this-thing-of-ours-david-lavery-9780231127813","title":"This Thing of Ours: Investigating the Sopranos","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn a first-season episode of \u003ci\u003eThe Sopranos\u003c\/i\u003e, Tony Soprano is once again in conflict with his uncle Carrado \"Junior\" Soprano. Tony is in no mood for conciliation, but neither is Junior, who warns his nephew not to return unless he is armed: \"Come heavy,\" he insists, \"or not at all.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs a work of popular culture, a ground-breaking television series, and a cultural phenomenon, \u003ci\u003eThe Sopranos\u003c\/i\u003e always \"comes heavy,\" not just with weaponry but with significance. The cultures of the United States, Great Britain and Canada, Australia, and even Italy (where it premiered in the spring of 2001) have come under its influence and contributed to the cultural conversation about it. Talk, discourse, about \u003ci\u003eThe Sopranos\u003c\/i\u003e has migrated far beyond the water cooler, and not all of it has been praise. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDavid Chase's \u003ci\u003eThe Sopranos\u003c\/i\u003e has also received starkly contradictory critical assessments. In the eyes of Ellen Willis (whose seminal essay in \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e is reprinted in this volume), for example, the HBO series is \"the richest and most compelling piece of television--no, of popular culture--that I've encountered in the past twenty years... a meditation on the nature of morality, the possibility of redemption, and the legacy of Freud.\" Others have condemned it for racial and sexist stereotypes, excessive violence, and profanity. These eighteen essays consider many facets of \u003ci\u003eThe Sopranos\u003c\/i\u003e: its creation and reception, the conflicting roles of men and women, the inner lives of the characters, obesity, North Jersey, the role of music, and even how food contributes to the story.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e David Lavery\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231127812\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231127813\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/18\/2002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 225\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.27lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.18h x 6.16w x 0.77d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePW Notes and Reprints\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/12\/2002 pg. 293\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2002 pg. 8\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/12\/2002","brand":"David Lavery","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44075977998591,"sku":"9780231127813","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5807a0dc-3787-495a-ac29-0760bc96e0af.jpg?v=1685462501","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/this-thing-of-ours-david-lavery-9780231127813","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}