The Portable Veblen

Starred review from September 21, 2015
A marriage proposal opens this offbeat and winning novel by New Yorker contributor and author McKenzie (Stop That Girl). Thirty-year-old Veblen Amundsen-Hovda, “independent behaviorist... and freelance self,” has only known Paul Vreeland, a 34-year-old neurologist, for three months. This might explain Veblen’s feeling of trouble, “as if rushing toward a disaster,” when she says yes to his marriage proposal. Veblen, a Palo Alto resident, is named for Thorstein Veblen, an economist from the beginning of the 20th century, popularly known for coining the term conspicuous consumption; our heroine Veblen shares some of his concerns and critiques about modern capitalism. Paul, who is finding his footing as a scientist of note and growing ambition (his device for treating traumatic brain injury is fast-tracked by a powerful pharmaceutical company), is anxious to cast off his hippie upbringing and live a life with all the traditional hallmarks of success. We learn the differences between these two at the same time as they do, meeting their eccentric and dysfunctional families for the first time (including Veblen’s mother, Melanie, a narcissist to end all narcissists), and seeing how they respond to situations that grow increasingly out of their control. McKenzie writes with sure-handed perception, and her skillful characterization means that despite all of Veblen’s quirks—she’s an amateur Norwegian translator with an affinity for squirrels—she’s one of the best characters of the year. McKenzie’s funny, lively, addictive novel is sure to be a standout.

Starred review from November 15, 2015
On the brink of her marriage, a charmingly quirky, unassumingly intelligent, and winningly warmhearted young woman forges an unusually strong bond with a squirrel. It's easy to understand why everyone in Veblen Amundsen-Hovda's life adores and depends on her. The heroine of McKenzie's (MacGregor Tells the World, 2007, etc.) disarmingly offbeat novel is the sort of person who not only sews her own clothes and fixes up her own tumbledown bungalow (in ultrapricey Palo Alto, California), but supports herself working temp jobs while performing the unappreciated yet worthy task of translating texts from Norwegian, especially those pertaining to maverick economist, anti-materialist, and leisure-class critic Thorstein Veblen, after whom she was named. Veblen--whom the author describes as an "independent behaviorist, experienced cheerer-upper, and freelance self"--has just gotten engaged to Paul Vreeland, an equally charming yet outwardly more conventional young neurologist, whose academic research has led to a device that's captured the attention of industry and the Department of Defense. Paul and Veblen are in love, betrothed, and planning their wedding and life together, but Paul is tempted by the kind of "conspicuous consumption" Veblen's economist namesake and hero railed against. Meanwhile, Veblen's heart has been stolen by a squirrel, who she suspects understands her in a way no one else may. Paul is struggling to calibrate his ethical compass--and to come to terms with his issues surrounding his hippy parents and his intellectually disabled brother, Justin. Veblen is laboring to free herself from the demands of her narcissistic, hypochondriacal mother (not to mention the mentally unstable father who was mostly absent from her childhood) and stake her claim to her own healthy identity and future. Will these kind, if somewhat confused, young people find their ways out of the past and to each other and a happy shared future? The reader can't help rooting them on. McKenzie's idiosyncratic love story scampers along on a wonderfully zig-zaggy path, dashing and darting in delightfully unexpected directions as it progresses toward its satisfying end and scattering tasty literary passages like nuts along the way.

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December 1, 2015
Named after economist Thorstein Veblen, the heroine of McKenzie's (Stop That Girl, 2005) new novel is a whimsical 30-year-old translator of Norwegian and perpetual temp. Veblen is newly engaged to Paul Vreeland, a doctor who has just received a lucrative contract to develop a tool to combat traumatic brain injury in veterans. Despite their whirlwind courtship, Veblen and Paul are an odd match at first blush. She's a free spirit with a sunny outlook, and he's grounded and ambitious. Their differences are perfectly illustrated in their reactions to a squirrel that takes up residence in Veblen's rented house. She believes the squirrel is trying to communicate with her, while Paul wants to trap and even kill it. Their families only add complications. Paul can't stand Veblen's self-involved, hypochondriac mother, and he's frustrated when his mentally disabled brother, whom he already believes his hippie parents favor, takes a shine to Veblen. Though it might be too offbeat for some, hipsters will love McKenzie's charmingly quirky exploration of how one young couple navigate their families and grows into their relationship.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2016

An endearing young woman arrives into adulthood intact, despite a histrionic mother who chose to name her daughter after a somewhat obscure social scientist. Veblen's coping skills involve a love of typing and of the natural world, especially the squirrels that live near her cottage in Palo Alto, CA. Paul, the neurologist to whom she is engaged, has family issues as well: he grew up in a commune where behavioral boundaries were lax and where his disabled brother commanded attention. In Paul's lab at Stanford University, he invents a device that minimizes brain trauma in combat situations, and a large medical corporation entices him to join its ranks. From there, everything goes awry. Amid all the craziness, Veblen's innate sweetness and relative groundedness keep this large cast of characters from spinning out of orbit. VERDICT McKenzie (MacGregor Tells the World) skewers modern American culture while quoting from a panoply of voices, with Frank Zappa, Robert Reich, and, of course, Thorstein Veblen among them. The result is a wise and thoroughly engaging story in a satirical style comparable to the works of Christopher Moore and Carl Hiaasen. [See Prepub Alert, 7/13/15.]--Susanne Wells, Indianapolis P.L.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2015

Here, from a New Yorker contributor, author of the best-booked MacGregor Tells the World, is the story of big-hearted Veblen (named for the economist who coined the term conspicuous consumption) and her brilliant neurologist fiance Paul. Their engagement is threatened by their dysfunctional families, Paul's being courted by the Department of Defense, and the puzzling behavior of one really cute squirrel. The result is a seriously funny, quirkily charming book that is already winning fans. Lot of promotion.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2016

An endearing young woman arrives into adulthood intact, despite a histrionic mother who chose to name her daughter after a somewhat obscure social scientist. Veblen's coping skills involve a love of typing and of the natural world, especially the squirrels that live near her cottage in Palo Alto, CA. Paul, the neurologist to whom she is engaged, has family issues as well: he grew up in a commune where behavioral boundaries were lax and where his disabled brother commanded attention. In Paul's lab at Stanford University, he invents a device that minimizes brain trauma in combat situations, and a large medical corporation entices him to join its ranks. From there, everything goes awry. Amid all the craziness, Veblen's innate sweetness and relative groundedness keep this large cast of characters from spinning out of orbit. VERDICT McKenzie (MacGregor Tells the World) skewers modern American culture while quoting from a panoply of voices, with Frank Zappa, Robert Reich, and, of course, Thorstein Veblen among them. The result is a wise and thoroughly engaging story in a satirical style comparable to the works of Christopher Moore and Carl Hiaasen. [See Prepub Alert, 7/13/15.]--Susanne Wells, Indianapolis P.L.

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.