Tunneling to the Center of the Earth
Stories
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3.8 • 25 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A debut short story collection in the tradition of writers like Kelly Link, Aimee Bender, and George Saunders—strange, imaginative, and refreshingly original—now back in print as part of Ecco’s “Art of the Story” Series, and with a new introduction from the author
Kevin Wilson’s characters inhabit a world that moves seamlessly between the real and the imagined, the mundane and the fantastic. “Grand Stand-In” is narrated by an employee of the Nuclear Family Supplemental Provider—a company that supplies “stand-ins” for families with deceased, ill, or just plain mean grandparents. And in “Blowing Up On the Spot,” a story singled out by Ann Patchett for Ploughshares, a young woman works sorting tiles at a Scrabble factory after her parents have spontaneously combusted.
Southern gothic at its best, laced with humor and pathos, these wonderfully inventive stories explore the relationship between loss and death and the many ways we try to cope with both.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Wilson's captivating debut collection paints an everyday world filled with characters obsessed by weird impulses. Whether it's Guster, the narrator of "The Shooting Man," who goes to great lengths to discover the secret of a sideshow performer whose trick is to shoot himself in the face, or the three bored college grads of the title story who compulsively dig a tunnel beneath their town, Wilson creates a lively landscape with rich and twisted storytelling. A few stories satirize the odd ways families react to tragedy, for example, "Grand Stand-in," which revolves around an elderly woman hired by families who wish to avoid telling their children about an unforeseen death. Two of the best stories involve teens: in "Mortal Kombat," two unpopular quiz bowl stars become enamored of a video game and each other, while "Go, Fight, Win," features a cheerleader who prefers building model cars to the company of her schoolmates. While Wilson has trouble wrapping up a few stories ("Blowing Up on the Spot," "The Museum of Whatnot"), most are fresh and darkly comedic in a Sam Lipsyte way.
Customer Reviews
Seriously?
What a weirdo that Kevin Wilson is. I love weirdo’s!
7 Degrees Off
This book of short stories was like a gift to my writer brain telling me what I was allowed to do. I keep it next to my bed and come back to it all the time. If you love a world where everything’s just a little off axis, this book is waiting for you.
Excellent short stories
I accidentally found one of Kevin Wilson's books and I'm hooked! I've read everything he's written now and I'm sitting here not very patiently waiting for his next. I love the quirkiness in his mind that he puts to pen. Somehow he convinces me that everything in his books is possibly realistic and I love it. I've enjoyed every minute reading his books and stories. Now I'll have to read mundane books until his next book appears. Hurry please!