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Elephants in Our Bedroom
The debut short story collection from the editor of the Mid-American Review. Michael Czyzniejewski’s writing is both poignant and playful. The collection includes fl ash and longer fiction and is the antithesis of those collections complained about for having every story too similar to each other.
Michael Czyzniejewski was born in Chicago and grew up in its south suburbs. H...more
Michael Czyzniejewski was born in Chicago and grew up in its south suburbs. H...more
Paperback, 197 pages
Published
February 1st 2009
by Dzanc Books
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Mar 14, 2009
Jessica
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Jessica by:
creative writing professor
41 books for 2009.
This author is actually coming to talk to our creative writing class tomorrow. So I picked up the book and read it in two sittings, loving it.
The short stories may have a touch of the fantastical (such as literal elephants in a bedroom) but are in no way unrealistic. Quirky and occasionally just fun, however I found several of the stories to be brutally realistic and uncomfortably familiar.
And most delightfully, the author has an incredible gift of voice ranging from a dying ol...more
This author is actually coming to talk to our creative writing class tomorrow. So I picked up the book and read it in two sittings, loving it.
The short stories may have a touch of the fantastical (such as literal elephants in a bedroom) but are in no way unrealistic. Quirky and occasionally just fun, however I found several of the stories to be brutally realistic and uncomfortably familiar.
And most delightfully, the author has an incredible gift of voice ranging from a dying ol...more
The stories in this collection are marvelously entertaining in their use of absurdist elements. Inventive and imaginative, the absurd is used to examine (with impressive insight) aspects of human life and what it means to be human. Czyzniejewski manages to write his characters with a voice that seems truly his own, different from the other absurdist fiction that I have read. I think that is extremely important in this kind of fiction. It conveys a sense of importance along with the ridiculous. R...more
I learned that if you rate your own book on MyReads, and you give it five stars, your average rating goes up slightly.
This writer does more with metaphor than anybody I've read lately. I liked it a lot.
Witty, moving, and unique. This book has a pulse all its own!
While I recognize and respect Czyzniejewski's talent, he is at times a bit crass & sadistic, and his women characters (many of whom are referred to only as "my wife") a bit shallow and/or shrill, for my personal taste.
Feb 01, 2012
Michael
marked it as to-read
You can listen to audio of me reading the first story of this collection right here: http://www.wingchairbooks.com/2012/01...
7,75/10
My old College teacher in creative writing!! Not bad, there are a few stories I loved and a few that were ok.
Czyzniejewski came to my Advanced Fiction Writing course and talked to us about his writing process, his inspirations, and we were able to ask him questions about his stories. Then he led us in a writing exercise and also signed all of our books. As an added bonus he read a story from the not-yet-published book he had finished. It was a great experience.
I have a fondness for short stories. This collection was a pretty good read, though I wouldn't recommend it if you have a dislike for the bizzare. My favorites were "Sleepmurder," "Victor," "Cool," "The Magic of Oil Painting," and "The Death of Purple."
May 21, 2013
Charlie
is currently reading it
Feb 20, 2013
Short Storyshort
marked it as to-read
Nov 21, 2012
Ioanna
marked it as to-read
Nov 15, 2012
Swati
marked it as to-read
Sep 13, 2012
Kasia S.
marked it as to-read
Aug 05, 2012
Sarah
marked it as read-after-to-read
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i look forward t...more
Jan 13, 2010 07:56am