Items related to Why Visit America: Stories
Synopsis
Equal parts speculative and satirical, the stories in Why Visit America form an exegesis of our current political predicament, while offering an eloquent plea for connection and hope.
The citizens of Plainfield, Texas, have had it with the broke-down United States. So they vote to secede, rename themselves America in memory of their former country, and happily set themselves up to receive tourists from their closest neighbor: America. Couldn’t happen? Well, it might, and so it goes in the thirteen stories in Matthew Baker’s brilliantly illuminating, incisive, and heartbreaking collection Why Visit America.
The book opens with a seemingly traditional story in which the speculative element is extremely minimal―the narrator has a job that doesn’t actually exist―a story that wouldn’t seem much out of place in a collection of literary realism. From there the stories get progressively stranger: a young man breaks the news to his family that he is going to transition―from an analog body to a digital existence. A young woman abducts a child―her own―from a government-run childcare facility. A man returns home after committing a great crime, his sentence being that his memory―his entire life―is wiped clean. As the book moves from universe to universe, the stories cross between different American genres: from bildungsroman to rom com, western to dystopian, including fantasy, horror, erotica, and a noir detective mystery. Read together, these parallel-universe stories create a composite portrait of the true nature of the United States and a Through the Looking-Glass reflection of who we are as a country.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Matthew Baker is author of the story collection Hybrid Creatures and the Edgar Award–nominated middle grade novel If You Find This. His stories have appeared in American Short Fiction, New England Review, One Story, Electric Literature, Conjunctions, The Paris Review and more, and in anthologies including Best of the Net and Best Small Fictions. He has an MFA from Vanderbilt University, where he was the founding editor of Nashville Review. Born in Michigan, he currently lives in New York City.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherHenry Holt and Co.
- Publication date2020
- ISBN 10 1250237203
- ISBN 13 9781250237200
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages368
- Rating
Buy New
Learn more about this copy
US$ 20.87
Shipping:
FREE
Within U.S.A.
Other Popular Editions of the Same Title
Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace
Stock Image
Why Visit America : Stories
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects. Seller Inventory # 39191506-6
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America : Stories
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages. Seller Inventory # 40762540-6
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: -OnTimeBooks-, Phoenix, AZ, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: good. Book may contain some writing, highlighting, and or cover damage. Shipped fast and reliably!. Seller Inventory # OTV.1250237203.G
Quantity: 2 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: The Maryland Book Bank, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Used - Very Good. Seller Inventory # 4-N-4-0463
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Former library book; May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.2. Seller Inventory # G1250237203I4N10
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.2. Seller Inventory # G1250237203I4N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. No Jacket. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.2. Seller Inventory # G1250237203I2N00
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 1.2. Seller Inventory # G1250237203I3N10
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: Books Unplugged, Amherst, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Buy with confidence! Book is in good condition with minor wear to the pages, binding, and minor marks within 1.21. Seller Inventory # bk1250237203xvz189zvxgdd
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Why Visit America: Stories
Seller: Ergodebooks, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. Equal parts speculative and satirical, the stories in Why Visit America form an exegesis of our current political predicament, while offering an eloquent plea for connection and hope.The citizens of Plainfield, Texas, have had it with the broke-down United States. So they vote to secede, rename themselves America in memory of their former country, and happily set themselves up to receive tourists from their closest neighbor: America. Couldnt happen? Well, it might, and so it goes in the thirteen stories in Matthew Bakers brilliantly illuminating, incisive, and heartbreaking collection Why Visit America.The book opens with a seemingly traditional story in which the speculative element is extremely minimal-the narrator has a job that doesnt actually exist-a story that wouldnt seem much out of place in a collection of literary realism. From there the stories get progressively stranger: a young man breaks the news to his family that he is going to transition-from an analog body to a digital existence. A young woman abducts a child-her own-from a government-run childcare facility. A man returns home after committing a great crime, his sentence being that his memory-his entire life-is wiped clean.As the book moves from universe to universe, the stories cross between different American genres: from bildungsroman to rom com, western to dystopian, including fantasy, horror, erotica, and a noir detective mystery. Read together, these parallel-universe stories create a composite portrait of the true nature of the United States and a Through the Looking-Glass reflection of who we are as a country. Seller Inventory # SONG1250237203
Quantity: 1 available