From Publishers Weekly
Billy, the ringleader of the "Church of Stop Shopping"-whose protests have gotten him arrested multiple times-presents his philosophy and plan of action in this tongue-in-cheek guide to buying less and loving more-what Billy calls the "Love-a-Lujah Revival." Despite this welcome thesis, Billy's mission barely gets off the ground amid his slim volume's jokey tone. With a sermon-like delivery, Billy can prove amusing in small doses, but quickly overwhelms readers with too many odd phrasings, vain attempts at comedy and random capitalization: "Let me ask you a question. IS THERE ANYONE HERE AMONG US WHO HAS NOT BEEN CHASED DOWN AND KILLED BY A DISCOUNTED LUXURY ITEM?" Paradoxically, Billy's plea for honest expression gets mired in new-age vagary: "We have learned in the Church of Stop Shopping that memory reclamation is key, then sharing and comparing." Even when these kinds of statements get proper support, they're undermined by Billy's punch-line-happy prose, making it tough to take the actor/activist/author seriously. Relentlessly sarcastic, deadly repetitive and almost entirely reference-free, this book feels more like an attention-getting device than an earnest attempt at either social change or satire.
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Review
"A comic manifesto on how to avoid consumerism with a serious look at the problems it causes." --
The Observer, June 3, 2007"It's all in good fun, yet it's deadly serious... Bless you, Rev. Billy." --
Hartford Courant, April 8, 2007"Rev and his choir now enrapture large audiences...with sermons such as those in this collection...to which...Jesus Himself would have said, `Amen.'" --
Kurt Vonnegut, January 2007"Reverend Billy leads the `Church of Stop Shopping,' a politically-minded band of pranksters dedicated to taking on the likes of Starbucks and Wal-Mart. They've been organizing hilariously absurd street theater they call `retail interventions' since the mid-`90s, hiding tape recorders playing the voices of sweatshop workers on shelves at a Disney store or creating `commercial-free zones' on crowded city streets." --
Boston Metro, July 13, 2007"an unconvential yet fresh perspective on the issues that surround widespread commercialism." --
Morning Star, Aril 8, 2007
