{"product_id":"everything-abridged-stories-9781419760976","title":"Everything Abridged: Stories","description":"\u003cb\u003eNamed a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR... SO FAR by \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFor readers of David Wong, Paul Beatty, and George Saunders, an electrifying and wholly original collection of satirical stories that create a bitingly funny portrait of American racism, capitalism, and politics\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eFramed as a reference work of humorous \"entries\" that offer trenchant social commentary, \u003ci\u003eEverything Abridged \u003c\/i\u003epresages a dark vision of the near future but tells jokes in the face of it: An intelligence agency operative uncovers a conspiracy to generate conspiracies and realizes his participation in the scheme. A Caribbean monarch meets four decades of American presidents and adjusts his country's foreign policy accordingly. Experiment participants are asked to bring back a gun as quickly as possible. A copywriter on a space colony advertises a weapon with the potential to destroy his home during an intergalactic war. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e These and other linked stories, many of which feature a speculative bent--about being Black in America, law enforcement practices in an android society, Olympic speed walking, consumerism, nuclear war, and more--are interspersed with hilarious, one-line definitions for words ranging from \u003ci\u003eabolition\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003ezygote\u003c\/i\u003e, creating a sharply humorous portrait of American inequality. With his singular wit, sharp prose, and shrewd observations, Dennard Dayle captures the struggles his characters face to keep hold of their sanity in a society collapsing into chaos and absurdity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Overlook Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/11\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781419760976\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368","brand":"Dennard Dayle","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42737788879029,"sku":"9781419760976","price":14.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_0ed9e275-5206-41e3-933a-50ddde15e239.jpg?v=1676385361","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/everything-abridged-stories-9781419760976","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}