Retail Commando: Essays, Stories & Other Near Misses

by James Stegall

An eclectic mix of journalism and one part knee-deep in pop culture, the other like a bullet aimed for the heart. "I'm Godzilla and the mall is my Tokyo!" crows the narrator of Retail Commando, the essay that leads off James Stegall's eclectic collection of journalism and fiction. The tragic green monster is a fitting representative for the threads of mania and heart-break connecting the 18 pieces gathered here. The essay subjects range wildly and stomp around like the mutations they retail culture, basic training, sex in the office, modern marriage, the Marlboro Man. Three interviews illuminate the lives of two comic artists and a group of lesbian rockers changing the world with the simple power of vision. The short stories are a glimpse into the tilted worlds of people in flux--in love, in hate, in war, in small towns and dealing with the moves to cities, a generation at its crossroads--living through the changes that make life real. With its sardonic wit and razor prose, Retail Essays, Stories + Other Near Misses will lighten the mood, broaden minds, and pull a few heartstrings--one smashed city at a time.

Paperback

Published December 1, 2000