Sixty Stories
July 18, 2006
"Sixty Stories" by Donald Barthelme
Penguin Classics trade paperback edition
Barthelme isn't a short story writer. He's a drug. Writing a bizarre, twisted brew of post-modernism and satire, Barthelme touched parts of the human experience that most people didn't even know existed. With most of his collections long out of print, "60 Stories" (along with its companion piece, "40 Stories") is the best available introduction to Barthelme's work. Classics such as "The Balloon" (in which a giant balloon is inflated over New York City and everyone has their own interpretation of its significance), "Me and Mrs. Mandible" (in which a middle-aged man inexplicably finds himself back in elementary school) and the dark humor of "The School" make this an invaluable piece of the American literary canon. Brilliant and so good it hurts.
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