C. Thi Nguyen

And they argue with each other about why theirs is better, and there's no conclusion.

It ends you in an inconclusive choice where you're allowed to try out different ways of making a burger.

And I think that's agency promoting.

And it's great because it has the authority and it does what cookbooks are good for.

It shows you the expertise.

It lets you imitate them.

But then it doesn't tell you what you have to do.

It tells you, look, here's the version that makes the salmon super crispy.

And here's the version that makes it super.

And then you get to try them both and find out what you like and also learn how you can move between them.

And the two endings of the book are supposed to be that.

I don't want to tell people.

It would be really ironic if I wrote a book about agency and exploration and ended it telling people what they should think.

The inner joke is that it's just supposed to be my own version of the Jacques and Julia cook at home.

Here's a happy ending and a sad ending.

You choose.

I'm not going to tell you.

I mean, this is the whole point of the book, right?

Civilization makes some people miserable and some people happy.

And that's okay.