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angelgriego's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cindyp's review
5.0
Vintage travel brochure headlines separate the tales in Mark Polanzak's wildly imaginative story collection, The OK End of Funny Town. Sections like "Travel to Fantastic Places!" and "Witness Magical Things!" deliver, as promised, 19 weird and wonderful stories that are as captivating as they are discomfiting. Readers "Meet Fabulous Strangers!" in the opening story, "Giant." Townspeople are delighted when a giant moves into their village. "It wasn't an emergency to anyone. It was awe-striking," the narrator says. Their bonhomie turns to exasperation, however, when, after weeks of attempted communication and friendly gestures, the giant shows no inclination to return their overtures and, indeed, seems pretty ungrateful. "He has not thanked us for the food. He has not apologized for trampling our parks and gardens and recreation areas.... He has not offered any help of any kind." The village soon realizes that the giant is as unremarkable as they are. "If he were of normal size, he would be completely uninteresting."
The title story, "The OK End of Funny Town," is one of the "Fantastic Places." The hapless narrator unsuccessfully tries to fix his "arrow-thru-the-head-gag." Determined to find another gag, he tries riding his unicycle on an oil slick and a bed of thumbtacks, and finally waves down a cab filled with clowns. How or why Funny Town became so is never explained, but the author hints at how the narrator arrived there. He tries to tell the cabdriver a joke starting, "There's this guy who moved to Funny Town after his fiancée left him at the altar... he wishes he could cry again, but he can't because it's impossible in Funny Town." The driver, unsympathetic, says, "We're all crying on the inside, man." More evidence of desperation, including a suicide note that says, "He's going to kill himself because he's no good for this place. He's only a minor joke, not anything that the town would miss," creeps into this bizarre, circus-like world. But this is Funny Town, so, as the narrator raises a gun to his head, "A flag bursts out from the nozzle. It reads: BANG."
The remarkable revealed as unremarkable, the ridiculous covering up despair--these themes permeate Polanzak's tales of needy robots, menacing mimes and people on the perimeter. The stories range from the frankly surreal ("A Proper Hunger") to the heartbreakingly real ("How You Wish"). Visiting this tragicomic world, which won the 2020 BOA Short Fiction Prize, will reward those looking for an exciting and original new voice in fiction.
-reviewed for Shelf Awareness 4-13-20
The title story, "The OK End of Funny Town," is one of the "Fantastic Places." The hapless narrator unsuccessfully tries to fix his "arrow-thru-the-head-gag." Determined to find another gag, he tries riding his unicycle on an oil slick and a bed of thumbtacks, and finally waves down a cab filled with clowns. How or why Funny Town became so is never explained, but the author hints at how the narrator arrived there. He tries to tell the cabdriver a joke starting, "There's this guy who moved to Funny Town after his fiancée left him at the altar... he wishes he could cry again, but he can't because it's impossible in Funny Town." The driver, unsympathetic, says, "We're all crying on the inside, man." More evidence of desperation, including a suicide note that says, "He's going to kill himself because he's no good for this place. He's only a minor joke, not anything that the town would miss," creeps into this bizarre, circus-like world. But this is Funny Town, so, as the narrator raises a gun to his head, "A flag bursts out from the nozzle. It reads: BANG."
The remarkable revealed as unremarkable, the ridiculous covering up despair--these themes permeate Polanzak's tales of needy robots, menacing mimes and people on the perimeter. The stories range from the frankly surreal ("A Proper Hunger") to the heartbreakingly real ("How You Wish"). Visiting this tragicomic world, which won the 2020 BOA Short Fiction Prize, will reward those looking for an exciting and original new voice in fiction.
-reviewed for Shelf Awareness 4-13-20
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