Trick Mirror

A razor-sharp essay collection examining the self in the age of social media, capitalism, and cultural contradiction.

In Trick Mirror, Jia Tolentino dissects the cultural distortions that shape how we see ourselves and the world—from the internet’s performance trap to the myth of the ideal woman, from millennial wedding culture to the con of self-optimization.

With wit, clarity, and a refusal to moralize, Tolentino shows how even the smartest people get seduced by systems that exploit them. She doesn’t offer easy solutions—but she does offer vision and voice.

This is personal essay writing at its best: intellectually rich, emotionally grounded, and culturally crucial.