"Kaleidoscopically mesmerizing... Powerfully illuminating" -- Village Voice
From New York to Tokyo to hagen to the Radiant City of Le Corbusier, this sophisticated and surreal colle of short stories and brief visionary texts takes us on an exhilarating tour of the modern urban -- and psychological -- landscape. Alexandra, a designer of artificial ruins, creates a ruined wall with classical ns and a number of broken urns for a park in Arizona; a journalist for a magazine called Folks sets out to interview nine people who have been struck by lightning; and a retired messman steals fifty-three mothballed ships from the U.S. gover.
Like a master magi, w with trol and illusion, Barthelme breaks all rules. Manipulating language with irony, humor, and imagination, he captures the essence of our disorienting times.
"Dizzying and enjoyable" -- Publishers Weekly
"Entig. . . flecked with charm, surprise, and challenge" -- Kirkus Reviews