The Octopus Rises by Ryan Boudinot
Man, I had so many stab wounds, it was crazy. There I was at the conference center, and I hadn’t even adequately prepared my presentation. And so begins “Bleeding Man and Wounded Deer,” one of the stories in this collection of literary short fiction from the pen of acclaimed Seattle novelist Ryan Boudinot. Bouncing among experimental fiction, absurdist farce, paranoid futurism, and stinging satirical and stinging satire, Boudinot’s comic, inventive prose lays bare the hopes and anxieties of our age.
From a heartbreaking and pitch-perfect account of the end of Bert and Ernie’s relationship, to a story about lovelorn robots looking for a “chop-shop owner who’s willing to look the other way” in a world where robot sex is illegal, to a Miyazaki-esque story about an entire town that shares the same heart, Boudinot’s prose crackles with acerbic wit. Also featuring: “Chopsticks” (named after the protaganist’s cat, who develops a hard drug problem); “An Essay and a Story about Mötley Crüe” (wish-fullfillment disguised as memoir); “I Used to Be a Plastic Bottle!”; and “The Guy Who Kept Meeting Himself.” A few of the 14 stories in this collection have appeared in McSweeney’s, The Best American Nonrequired Reading, The Best Bizarro Fiction of the Decade, and elsewhere, but most have never been collected until now.
Fante Bukowski by Noah Van Sciver
Noah Van Sciver’s latest graphic novella drops in on the life of the self- styled, aspiring young writer, Fante Bukowski, as he delusively makes his way to literary fame and fortune, one drink at a time. Living in a cheap hotel, consorting with the debased and downtrodden, searching for that golden idea that will rocket him to the success he yearns for as the great American novelist, and to get respect from his father once and for all. But, there’s just one problem: Fante Bukowski has no talent for writing.
This latest book from emerging talent Van Sciver is another unique character study (along with Spring’s Saint Cole and 2012’s The Hypo) that mines the author’s interest in pathos and the human condition.
Related Seattle Events:
Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery will be hosting a release party for two hot books on this hot summer day. Noah Van Sciver with Fante Bukowski, and Seattle author Ryan Boudinot with The Octopus Rises. Other cartoonists will be joining the party that will be stocked with friends, beer, and probably some hot dogs.
Ryan Boudinot at Elliot Bay Books
August 17 @ 7:00 pm
Elliot Bay Books on Capitol Hill hosts author Ryan Boudinot as he reads selections from his new Fantagraphics collection of short stories, The Octopus Rises.
Seattle: Boudinot at University Bookstore
August 19 @ 7:00 pm
Find Ryan Boudinot and his short story collection The Octopus Rises at University Bookstore in, where else, the U-District!