“Always amusing, often hilarious, Irelan reminds me of Donald Barthelme and George Saunders.”–Dr. Science, (Dan Coffey)
These stories will take you places you can’t ignore. Welcome to a world of office anarchy, self-improvement fraud, and space aliens who live in silos. Observe an urban scene so ugly that it drives people into group therapy. Enroll in a correspondence course taught by a man who knows nothing about the subject matter. Sit in on a meeting of the Burning Desire Romance Writers. Apply for a job at the Ray of Hope Greeting Card Company. Join us now as we enter a cultural dreamland in which every day is just another televised rerun.
Patrick Irelan is the author of two memoir collections, Central Standard (Univ of Iowa, 2002) and A Firefly In The Night (ICP, 2006) both set in the heart of the Midwest. Known for vividly capturing the remarkable potential of living in Iowa, Irelan repeatedly shows us that “normal” is much more than “normal.” This collection of short stories combines both his understanding of living in the Midwest with his wry sense of humor.