Customer Reviews

A la Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers

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Hillary Carlip is first and foremost a comedienne as her previous 'autobiographical' book QUEEN OF THE ODDBALLS confirmed. But at the heart of comedy is tragedy, something every fine writer of comedy understands, and it is that turn of words that makes a potentially tragic story the seed of comedy. In her newest book A LA CART: THE SECRET LIVES OF GROCERY SHOPPERS Carlip has selected the idea of exploring the creators of random shopping lists found in markets, parking lots, and other unlikely places and from these tidbits of notations she has created the persons who wrote them - which turns out to be twenty six individuals whose lives become the matrix for Carlip to bring to the performance stage of this book. Each character is imagined with insight and sensitivity and then physically transformed into a 'real person' by the actress Carlip and her crew of makeup artist, costume designer, and, very importantly, her photographer, Barbara Green.

In this very well-designed book are images of the found lists, the 'characters' who wrote them as impersonated by Carlip and photographed by Green in the marketplaces the characters might have used, accompanied by a short story about each person, written with great skill and humor and pathos by Carlip. It is a 'compleat' experience as we are allowed to meet each of the 26 list writers, people who range from hookers, to porn stars, to teenagers, to coupon clipping ex-quilter Helen, a street person, a therapist who is clearly out of joint, to Latinas with oddly utilized cafés or frustrated careers as airline hostesses, Latinos of varying sexual persuasion - the list is so varied that it includes men and women whose lives at first seem comical, but whose emotional states are at times in tatters.

Carlip never fails to entertain with her multiple personalities, but she also follows the rule of comedy in sharing the humanity beneath the façade that allows us to laugh while we empathize with the potential sadness each character suggests. This is a beautiful little book, a delight to read, but one that offers some rich lessons in sociology and humanity. Hillary Carlip continues to prove that she is one of the more important messengers of comedy at work today! Grady Harp, April 08

Before I could even open my new copy of Hillary Carlip's , A La Cart, my 18 year-old daughter snatched it away and read it cover to cover. When I finally got it back, she hung over my shoulder as I read, laughing again at each character and their grocery list. The premise; make up characters based on their discarded grocery list and then have clever photographer shoot you playing all the characters.

One reason she likes it so much is because we've always played what we call "airport people." When we wait for our flight, we take turns making up bios about the people waiting around us.
We also grab left over grocery store lists from the bottom of random carts. We've just never put the two together. But we will now.

Her favorites: Darcy, the punker who grew up listening to The Dead Kennedy's and wants to be a comic book author.
Derrick, who listed, Mouse Traps, cheese and mouse on his post it note. Ooh,,the goth guy.
My fave: Lloyd, hunched over in his motorized wheelchair, trying to adjust to wife Sylvia's death and Woody who wrote: Coors and oreos on the inside of box of matches. Love THAT!
The photographer, Barbara Green, does an amazing job with each shot. Woody made the front cover with his package of Oreos. .

It's a fun, lively book, great gift for,,anyone, even jaded teenagers like mine.

I just wonder what Carlip would create from MY grocery list this week: Beer, bagels, bread, bacon and brownie mix.

My to do list: Get the Oddball book next.

I was a huge fan of Hillary Carlip's last book - "Queen of the Oddballs" - her insights and humor and compassion in her writing felt fresh and funny and very alive. I have to say I think she may have topped herself with 'A La Cart' . Who hasn't seen a grocery list and wondered the kind of person who wrote it?? Well, now we know. I don't know who I love more -- Graciela, June or Pammy. I confess Troy scares me just a little.

Hillary brings performance art to the pages with these brilliant characterizations and amazing photographs. This would make a great gift too. I'm just saying...

Hillary Carlip has been collecting found shopping lists for over twenty-five years. She has carefully imagined the lives of the list-writers and created personas for them. Dressing up as the characters, she morphs from a young Vietnamese immigrant to a porn star, from a gay Cuban man to stroke-addled aged woman. The make-up and hair work for each character is perfection. She is convincing in all her poses. Funny, touching, radically original- put it on your shopping list!

Bought it, read cover to cover in one sitting. Bought it for my mother, my father got jealous. It's my new "just because" present. My roommate stole it from me. Am I bitter? No! The more people that read this smart, hilarious, and slightly insane (in a great way!) book, the better. Color me a huge A la Cart fan!

This book is fantastically brilliant, and disturbing, and hilarious, and Carlip is a marvel. The fact that Carlip has people like Kim, Tuyen, and Deb in her - well, I'm floored! So insightful about humanity, and it's so much fun. A great, totally unique gift for anyone!!

Ever since first reading Hillary Carlip's previous book, Queen of the Oddballs, I've lamented the fact that I haven't been able to see her performance art. Well, a la Cart is the next best thing. Easy to read and hard to put down, this book cracked me up from beginning to end. Although hard pressed to pick a favorite, I will say that I love Jet and think I need to start seeing Dr. Bloom. I can't get over the fact that Tuyen, Lloyd and Millie are the same person underneath it all! I'll never look at a shopping list the same way again!

Queen of the Oddballs was totally one of my favorite books, so I was really looking forward to Ms. Carlip's new book. The idea of capturing everyday people through the medium of found grocery lists sounded so inspired.

From the cover alone I knew I was in for a treat. Then inside the pages, the book unfolded even more brilliantly that I expected - each page was a breathtaking, funny glimpse into the human condition through grocery lists! Fabulous. Ms. Carlip brings such warmth and humor and insight within this inspired context. I love the combination of humanity in all its "there it is"-ness with the gentle humor.

If this book wasn't published already, these photos (and their accompanying grocery lists) could be an exhibition at LACMA or in the Whitney Biennial. The author is truly an artist.

Loved it.

OMG!!! This book is a total must have!!

I love Hillary Carlip. She is such an incredibly creative writer, performer and artist, and this book is a breath of fresh air.

From the concept of the book, to the selection and variety of found lists she used, to the amazing characters she created--and the written essays that accompany each, the book is filled with laughter and heart. The photographs by Barbara Green are brilliant and leave us with the perfect visual representation of each character and scenario.

A La Cart was able to make me laugh and think. Not as easy as it sounds.

Get a bunch of them. Everyone you give one to will adore you for it!!

this is such a cool book. the author says she has basically been creating this book since she started collecting found grocery lists when she was a teenager. the transformations the author goes thru for each "list" are amazing. i read somewhere that she found the make up artist on craig's list! i bought 3, one for myself and 2 as gifts, because you would want me to give you one.