First published 1987
Donald Barthelme presents forty brief stories that refuse conventional narrative structure. Characters navigate absurd conversations about art and literature while grappling with the mundane realities of courtship and divorce. In one piece, discussions of Paul Klee's paintings become entangled with domestic disputes. Another story transforms Goethe into an unlikely figure in contemporary scenarios. Captain Blood appears in unexpected contexts, far removed from swashbuckling adventures. Throughout these compressed narratives, couples attempt communication but find language itself unreliable. Marriage becomes a series of disconnected moments rather than a coherent institution. Divorce arrives not through dramatic confrontation but through the accumulation of small misunderstandings. Even armadillos serve as characters in Barthelme's reimagined world. Each story poses questions without providing answers, leaving readers to navigate the gaps between meaning and confusion. The collection explores how people struggle to connect when words themselves become obstacles to understanding.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, academic
Vibes: absurdist, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: disconnected-moments, unconventional-narrative
246 pages · Paperback · Penguin Books