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Demons in the Spring

Stories

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
From the author of Between Everything and Nothing, "an inspired collection of twenty stories, brilliant in its command of tone and narrative perspective" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).
Demons in the Spring is a collection of twenty short stories by Joe Meno, author of the smash hits The Boy Detective Fails and Hairstyles of the Damned, with illustrations by twenty artists from the fine art, graphic art, and comic book worlds—Todd Baxter, Kelsey Brookes, Ivan Brunetti, Charles Burns, Nick Butcher, Steph Davidson, Evan Hecox, Kim Hiorthoy, Paul Hornschemeier, Cody Hudson, Caroline Hwang, kozyndan, Geoff McFetridge, Anders Nilsen, Laura Owens, Archer Prewitt, Jon Resh, Jay Ryan, Souther Salazar, Rachell Sumpter, and Chris Uphues.
In these stories, oddly modern moments occur in the most familiar of public places—from offices to airports to schools to zoos to emergency rooms. A young girl refuses to go anywhere unless she's dressed as a ghost. A bank robbery in Stockholm goes terribly wrong. A teacher becomes enamored with the students in his school's Model United Nations club. A couple is affected by a strange malady. A miniature city begins to develop in a young woman's chest. These inventive stories are hilarious, heartbreaking, and unusual.
A portion of the author's proceeds from the book will go directly to benefit 826 CHICAGO, a nonprofit tutoring center, part of the national organization of tutoring centers with branches in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle.
Finalist for the 2008 Story Prize
Time Out Chicago Best Books of 2008
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2008
"This short story collection succeeds word to word, sentence to sentence, and cover to cover." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 7, 2008
      Spanning worlds, generations, cultures and environments, each of Meno's short stories in this stellar collection explores depression, loneliness and insanity in the world, while never quite offering a clear solution or glimmer of hope. Misery loves company, and Meno's assortment of off-center, morose characters fit seamlessly together. Even with their almost kitschy specificity, stories such as “I Want the Quiet Moments of a Party Girl” and “Art School Is Boring So” never become pretentious or unnecessarily complex. Meno plays with supernatural elements throughout the collection, and his risky moves—such as having a protagonist turn into a cloud in “People Are Becoming Clouds” or a woman whose insides are overrun by a miniature city in “Airports of Light”—always pay off. Each story is illustrated by a different artist, from Schizo
      series cartoonist Ivan Brunetti to the husband and wife duo kozyndan, known for their depictions of modern cityscapes. Catering to all the odd men out in the world, this short story collection succeeds word to word, sentence to sentence, and cover to cover.

    • Library Journal

      July 15, 2008
      A girl will only go out in public dressed as a ghost. A zookeeper sets the animals free. A wife becomes a cloud when her husband kisses her. A girl lives her life as a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book. The only elephants left on Earth are miniatures kept as pets. The moon stops glowing. A city grows in a woman's chest. Odd as these scenarios may seem, Meno renders them not just plausible but indicative of deeper truths within and between people. His prose can be very spare and direct to great effect. "Apples are kissing other apples. Gray cats are kissing other gray cats. Trees are kissing trees. You and I are not kissing. We work in an office together." It can also be complex and luminous but never flowery. As he demonstrated in his earlier collection, "Bluebirds Used To Croon in the Choir", Meno knows just how to press a variety of emotional buttons ranging from giddy delight to not-quite-hopeless despair. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.Jim Dwyer, California State Univ. Lib., Chico

      Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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