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Loading... A Fictional History of the United States : with Huge Chunks Missingby T. Cooper, Adam Mansbach (Editor)
   None No current Talk conversations about this book.   ) evanroskos | Mar 30, 2013 |  This book, however, is a collection of short stories, written by people who think they are Accomplishing Something. For heaven's sake, I was an English major, too, but you don't see me punishing people for that. Of course, I'm only about a third of the way through this so far, so maybe it gets better. But I'm skeptical, especially after having read Kate Bornstein's horrid Huck Finn story. I've got no problem with reappropriating classic works of fiction, and there is certainly humor to be found in the idea of Huck finding work as a cross-dressing male prostitute. When you're dealing with one of the distinctive voices in American literature, however, you simply have to do a better job than this. There's more to writing than just shock value. ... Having finally finished the book, there are a few stories that were, for lack of a better word, adequate. Sarah Schulman's story was pretty good, although not terribly appropriate to the theme of the book. Neal Pollack did a nice job in his story as well. And the comics were okay. But on the whole, what a load of crap. It's hard to succeed with a short story. You've only got a limited space to make something attention-getting, while still saying something. Most of these stories manage to do nothing more than waste my time. (  ) jawalter | Nov 18, 2012 | no reviews | add a review
"This is a 'people's history' with tongue in cheek, delightfully funny, imaginative, but with a subtle undertone of seriousness. I enjoyed it immensely." --HOWARD ZINN, author ofA People's History of the United States Original stories & artwork by: Daniel Alarcon, Amy Bloom, Kate Bornstein, Alexander Chee, T Cooper, Keith Knight, Ron Kovic, Paul La Farge, Felicia Luna Lemus, Adam Mansbach, Valerie Miner, Tommy O'Malley, Neal Pollack, David Rees, Sarah Schulman, Darin Strauss, and Benjamin Weissman. History is distorted the moment it's recorded--and in these politically dishonest times, challenging the stories we're told is more important than ever. In this groundbreaking anthology of original fiction, a diverse group of America's best writers takes on the task of creating counter-narratives to mainstream American history. Here are some of the moments and the people left out of the textbooks. Here is what else happened--on the margins of American life, and in between the lines of our history books. A Fictional History of the United States with Huge Chunks Missing brings together an eclectic array of celebrated authors and cartoonists to create a patchwork, anecdotal history of this complicated country. From the Chinese discovery of America in 1426 to the new McCarthyism of a post-9-11 world, this collection recasts everything from the moon landing to the Lindbergh kidnapping, westward expansion to the sexual proclivities of Civil War officers. Riveting, inventive, and politically vital, this anthology picks up--and yanks on--America's supposed commitment to seeking the truth . . . even if that truth is revealed in fiction. T Cooper is the author of the novelsLipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes (Dutton) andSome of the Parts (Akashic). T lives in New York City. Adam Mansbach is the author of the novelsAngry Black White Boy (Crown),Shackling Water (Doubleday), and the forthcomingThe End of the Jews (Spiegel & Grau/Doubleday). He lives in Berkeley, California No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Loading...GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.00803273Literature English (North America) American fiction By typeLC ClassificationRatingAverage: (3.25)
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