First published 1980
Stanley Elkin opens his personal vault to share the moments that made him laugh hardest while writing. Dick Gibson commands the airwaves with his peculiar brand of radio wisdom. Franchise owners navigate the absurd economics of American business dreams. Characters face mortality with unexpected humor in cosmic waiting rooms. Elkin pulls these scenes from The Dick Gibson Show, The Franchiser, and The Living End, among others. Each passage captures ordinary Americans caught between their grand ambitions and ridiculous realities. The selections reveal how Elkin found comedy in strip malls, radio stations, and suburban kitchens. His characters speak with the rhythm of people who believe their own sales pitches. This collection shows why critics called Elkin the poet of American commerce and disappointment.
Genres: american-fiction, 20th-century, american, contemporary, comedy, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: grand-ambitions, ordinary-people, ridiculous-realities
290 pages · Hardcover · E. P. Dutton