First published 1974
Donald Barthelme presents a collection of experimental stories that dissect contemporary American life through fragmented narratives and unconventional structures. The protagonists navigate urban landscapes filled with bureaucratic absurdities, failed relationships, and cultural disconnection. Characters find themselves trapped in conversations that spiral into meaninglessness, confronting institutions that operate by incomprehensible logic, and struggling to communicate authentic emotions in a world saturated with commercial language. Barthelme constructs these encounters through spare dialogue, surreal juxtapositions, and abrupt narrative shifts that mirror the disorientation his characters experience. The stories examine how people attempt to find genuine connection and meaning while surrounded by the debris of consumer culture and social convention. Each piece functions as both satire and sincere exploration of isolation in modern society.
Genres: satire, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, surreal, thought-provoking
Tropes: disorientation, fragmented-narrative, unconventional-structure
Setting: America, Urban
Period: 20th-Century, 21st-Century
165 pages · Hardcover · Farrar Straus & Giroux