
"A joyful, deranged, endlessly surprising book." -Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!
A little desert town gets a sexual charge from a crash-landed alien. A dysfunctional family tries to summit Everest with "discount Sherpas" and yakloads of emotional baggage. A teen messiah emerges from a game of 3-on-3. The stories in John Henry Fleming's Songs for the Deaf, the first story collection by the "marvelously inventive" and "winningly satiric" author of The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman, put an intimate and modern spin on the American tall tale. This second edition includes a bonus story.
"Songs for the Deaf is a joyful, deranged, endlessly surprising book of stories that defy easy categorization. Fleming's prose is glorious music; his rhythms will get into your bloodstream, and his images will sink into your dreams. Thank you, Burrow Press, for bringing John Fleming's radioactively imaginative stories to us."
-Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia!
"Fans of George Saunders or Donald Barthelme will (not might; will) enjoy John Henry Fleming's Songs for the Deaf."
-Orlando Weekly
"Songs for the Deaf reveals some of Fleming's influences-Franz Kafka, Italo Calvino, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez... It's a fun, all-over-the-place mix."
-SCENE magazine
"Fleming is a whimsical, imaginative, often funny writer, but even his most outlandish stories can sneak up on you with insight into the human condition."
-Tampa Bay Times
"The extent of John Henry Fleming's literary range is unmistakable..."
-New York Journal of Books
"Traumatic events in their lives lead some characters to redemption, others to extinction. Skillful choice of language, dark humor, and the occasional integration of fantastic elements ensure enjoyment. These strong stories will appeal to fans of literary writing and short stories."
-Booklist
"Where Fleming truly excels is in the briefest story, "A Charmed Life," which traces a lovable loser protagonist's travels with straight-faced sincerity, showing what a skilled writer can accomplish in just a few short pages."
-Publishers Weekly