Description

Book Synopsis
Nearly everyone collects something, even those who don't think of themselves as collectors. Part memoir, part reflection on the mania of acquisition, this title takes a hard look at this habitual hoarding to see what truths it can reveal about the impulse to accumulate.

Trade Review
"What makes this book, bred of a midlife crisis, extraordinary is the way King weaves his autobiography into the account of his collection, deftly demonstrating that the two stories are essentially one.... His hard-won self-awareness gives his disclosures an intensity that will likely resonate with all readers, even those whose collections of nothing contain nothing at all." - New Yorker "King's extraordinary book is a memoir served up on the backs of all things he collects.... His story starts out sounding odd and singular - who is this guy? - but by the end, you recognize yourself in a lot of what he does." - Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune "Part memoir and part disquisition on the psychological impulses behind the urge to accumulate, Collections of Nothing is a wonderfully frank and engaging look at one man's detritus-fueled pathology.... King emerges by book's end a flawed but truly lovable eccentric - an 'antimonk, carefully preserving and sustaining a vital darkness, heavy with various glues, through a forbidding period of enlightenment.' May this darkness reign." - Henry Alford, New York Times Book Review"

Collections of Nothing

Product form

£14.96

Includes FREE delivery

Order before 4pm today for delivery by Tue 6 Jan 2026.

A Paperback / softback by William Davies King

15 in stock


    View other formats and editions of Collections of Nothing by William Davies King

    Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
    Publication Date: 01/10/2009
    ISBN13: 9780226437019, 978-0226437019
    ISBN10: 0226437019

    Description

    Book Synopsis
    Nearly everyone collects something, even those who don't think of themselves as collectors. Part memoir, part reflection on the mania of acquisition, this title takes a hard look at this habitual hoarding to see what truths it can reveal about the impulse to accumulate.

    Trade Review
    "What makes this book, bred of a midlife crisis, extraordinary is the way King weaves his autobiography into the account of his collection, deftly demonstrating that the two stories are essentially one.... His hard-won self-awareness gives his disclosures an intensity that will likely resonate with all readers, even those whose collections of nothing contain nothing at all." - New Yorker "King's extraordinary book is a memoir served up on the backs of all things he collects.... His story starts out sounding odd and singular - who is this guy? - but by the end, you recognize yourself in a lot of what he does." - Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune "Part memoir and part disquisition on the psychological impulses behind the urge to accumulate, Collections of Nothing is a wonderfully frank and engaging look at one man's detritus-fueled pathology.... King emerges by book's end a flawed but truly lovable eccentric - an 'antimonk, carefully preserving and sustaining a vital darkness, heavy with various glues, through a forbidding period of enlightenment.' May this darkness reign." - Henry Alford, New York Times Book Review"

    Recently viewed products

    © 2025 Book Curl

      • American Express
      • Apple Pay
      • Diners Club
      • Discover
      • Google Pay
      • Maestro
      • Mastercard
      • PayPal
      • Shop Pay
      • Union Pay
      • Visa

      Login

      Forgot your password?

      Don't have an account yet?
      Create account