User I. D
by Shute, Jenefer
- Used
- Condition
- Used - Good
- ISBN 10
- 0618539069
- ISBN 13
- 9780618539062
- Seller
-
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
Coursing with mordant wit and fierce intelligence, User ID is an elegant, utterly absorbing examination of the mutual obsession between an identity thief and her mark. Charlene Cummins, who sells cosmetics at an LA drugstore, is desperate for the better life she knows is out there for the taking. Vera de Sica, underachieving resident of Manhattan and (sort of) professor of English, is the woman whose identity she purloins. Nothing has been going right for Vera since she arrived in Los Angeles to deliver a speech at a conference: she has felt unappreciated (her presentation was sparsely attended), slightly dazed (there's too much light in the City of Angels), and disoriented (the freeways make her nervous). Now all she needs to do is return her rental car before heading back to New York. But when a heavily sweating man in a short-sleeved white shirt tells her to leave the car--and, as it happens, her personal effects--under a sign that reads Guest Parking,” Vera's true nightmare begins. Based on more than three years of research into the fastest-growing white-collar crime in America, User ID is the incredibly compelling story of what happens when Vera's identity goes AWOL, co-opted by Charlene, the ambivalent girlfriend of the perspiring scam artist. In this deft and mesmerizing character study of two women, who, on the face of it, could not lead more disparate lives (and yet share the same dissatisfaction with their lot), Jenefer Shute brilliantly explores the psychology of both victim and victimizer, as each woman develops an intense fantasy relationship with her other, imagined self. In alternating chapters that read like a thriller, Shute draws the reader into the bizarre and unsettling world where identities are multiple and mutable, and, ultimately, for sale. Unexpected, smart, and troubling, User ID is both a terrific read and a trenchant look at the philosophical implications of our networked world.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Better World Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 38666267-75
- Title
- User I. D
- Author
- Shute, Jenefer
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0618539069
- ISBN 13
- 9780618539062
- Publisher
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- This edition first published
- 2005
- LCCN
- 2005040419
Terms of Sale
Better World Books
Better World Books wants every single one of its customers to be happy with their purchase. If you are not satisfied your purchase or simply find out that it was not the book you were looking for, please e-mail us at: help@betterworldbooks.com. We will get back to you as soon as possible with directions on how to return the book to our warehouse. Please keep in mind that because we deal mostly in used books, any extra components, such as CDs or access codes, are usually not included. CDs: If the book does include a CD, it will be noted in the book's description ("With CD!"). Otherwise, there is no CD included, even if the term is used in the book's title. Access Codes: Unless the book is described as "New," please assume that the book does *not* have an access code.