Wonderful Beth Fedyn sent me a copy of Mark Polanzak’s The OK End of Funny Town. The OK End of Funny Town‘s 19 stories feature characters like a giant who sets up camp in the middle of a city (freaking everyone out!) and a complicated and annoying little robot that you don’t know whether you should love or hate. Mark Polanzak plays with magic, surrealism, and whimsy in these stories. If you’re looking for tales out of the realm of the familiar and normal, take a trip to The OK End of Funny Town. Thanks, Beth! GRADE: B
Table of Contents
I. MEET FABULOUS STRANGERS!
1. Giant — 11
2. Complicated and Annoying Little Robot — 16
3. Genie — 25
4. The Mime — 30
5. Unidentified Living Object — 46
II. TRAVEL TO FANTASTIC PLACES!
6. The OK End of Funny Town — 63
7. Our New Community School — 71
8. Camp Redo — 79
9. A Proper Hunger — 83
III. WITNESS MAGICAL THINGS!
10. Porcelain God — 101
11. Gracie — 112
12. An Exact Thing — 116
13. Test — 125
14. How You Wish — 135
IV. EXPERIENCE SURREAL TIMES!
15. Out of Order — 151
16. Ready Set — 160
17. Oral — 169
18. Kind Eyes — 179
19. Used Goods — 187
Acknowledgements — 191
About the Author — 193
Colophon — 196
It does sound like something I would like. Beth sends both of us books occasionally too.
Jeff, Beth’s middle name is “Santa.”
No, your middle name is Santa.
Patti, my nickname is “Ho, ho, ho!”
That sounds like a fun one. Haven’t heard of the author before now.
Carl, THE OK END OF FUNNY TOWN is published by a regional small press. Mark Polanzak teaches English at the Berklee College of Music. He’s an up-and-coming writer!
Surprisingly my local library chain has three copies of it, so I ordered a hold on it.
Carl, a lot of libraries are buying THE OK END OF FUNNY TOWN. The reviews have been very positive.
That is a gorgeous book. I would go for it just based on the cover.
Tracy, I love the cover on THE OK END OF FUNNY TOWN, too! The cover is “Carnaval at The End of the World Tarot” by Kahn & Selesnick.
Does “B” as grade mean Enjoyable but not something that will change your life? Lot of good cute notions there.
“The SCA Short Fiction Prize” seems to be escaping Google. Perhaps I should try DuckDuckGo. I have to wonder if being an English prof at Berklee means one emphasizes improvisation.
Todd, “B” means Good…but not “Great.” Mark Polanzak goes onto my “Promising” list and I’ll keep tabs on his future work.