In the Electric Eden: Stories [Paperback]

Nick Arvin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 28, 2003

Writer and former engineer Nick Arvin layers his knowledge of technology, mechanical design, and human character into a collection of emotionally riveting stories. With a subtle hand he transports readers through history and across America to ten poignant and utterly unforgettable places: a traffic accident in the middle of the heartland; the electrocution of Topsy the elephant at Coney Island at the turn of the century; the backyard of an old recluse; a Marine Corps practice invasion of the Florida beaches; a romantic tryst in a dismal corporate office; the launching of the first manned American hydrogen balloon in the eighteenth century; and more. Constantly aware of how technology shapes the way we interact with each other and experience the world, Arvin uses these original settings and compelling characters to create a moving collection of stories that, though seemingly unlinked, comes together to form a stunning, awe-inspiring whole.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Machines, large and small-from an electric chair to a cell phone-are the inspiration for this cleverly conceived but uneven debut collection of 10 stories. Exploring the ways in which machines mediate human relationships, Arvin invests his stories' gadgets with heavy metaphorical significance. In "Electric Fence," the eponymous barrier serves as a symbol of alienation and greed, separating a woman from the woods she played in as a child. In "The Prototype," a man steals a new model SUV to impress an ex-girlfriend who likes trucks. The title story tells of the electrocution of Topsy, a man-killing elephant put to death at Coney Island in 1903, but is largely focused on the family of Topsy's final victim, a drunk who fed the elephant a lit cigarette, igniting the animal's rage. Here, as in many of the stories, Arvin paints his characters with broad strokes ("Fielding was a drinker, however, and when he drank his face became red"; "Despite Fielding's drinking binges, it was evident that Emma loved him very much"). In his strongest efforts, he links material objects and human emotions with a lighter touch. In the insightful and tender "Commemorating," a couple vacations on a beach in Florida that is stormed by marines in a routine but startling exercise. Shortly thereafter, the narrator's wife disappears. Ignorant of the abandonment, an ad man who was also on the beach annually sends the narrator commemorative junk-coffee mugs, T-shirts, bumper stickers-inadvertently marking the dissolution of his marriage. Arvin, a former engineer, strikes a rich cultural vein, but has yet to smoothly mesh machine lore and fluent storytelling.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Arvin comes to fiction via engineering, and his understanding of technology and those who create it infuses his first book with a unique and mesmerizing power. But Arvin is also able to distance himself from the seductive world of machines and recognize how radically technology has altered life on earth and how subtly it modulates human interactions. In the bewitching title story, electricity, new and miraculous on Coney Island in 1903, is used as a lethal weapon against Topsy the elephant, a towering force of nature killed in an instant by man's ingenuity; then, in "Electric Fence," a man attempts to cordon off an Edenic safe zone for his orphaned grandson, but here nature prevails. Elsewhere a telescope and cell phone become devices of mischief, while trouble between a father and son is exacerbated by the bumbling son's mechanical ineptness. Arvin's complexly structured and psychologically dynamic stories are as discerning as they are incandescent. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); First Edition edition (January 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142002569
• ISBN-13: 978-0142002568
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,151,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, January 30, 2003

By 

"m-durrell" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Electric Eden: Stories (Paperback)

I read a lot of story collections, and few charm me as much as this. Arvin has several unforgettably delightful stories in the collection. "Take Your Child To Work Day," is hilarious and at the same time sad, the story of a marriage on the rocks and the strange daughter caught in the middle. Its about taking one's inner child to work, or putting ones real child to work, or...it's very smart. All a story should be.
In The Electric Eden is an intriguing blend of history, authoritative ideas regarding engineering, and the finer details of emotional lives.
As a child raised in Michigan myself--with all those trips to the former home of Henry Ford and the reconstructed Edison lab--I can't help but respond to this lovely mix of exploring the history of technology and the geography of human emotion.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly interesting and unconventional stories, May 15, 2004

By 

Andidu "andidu" (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Electric Eden: Stories (Paperback)

I teach short-story writing, and I've had my students read this book because it shows that there is still a way to "make it new" in the story form. Arvin's stories, all of them, have nice surprises in form or content. He is not satisfied with cliches or overused word or character packages. His historical pieces don't smack of research, but present a complex world with compelling characters. The stories are not of interest to solely writers; they're compelling to anyone who cares about the human heart. I look forward to reading his novel, Articles of War, which I've heard is coming out from Doubleday in January 2005.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent collection of short stories, March 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Electric Eden: Stories (Paperback)

I normally don't write reviews, but Mr. Arvin's book of stories really struck a nerve for me. His stories, although sometimes a little dark, are unforgettable. His ability to blend historical facts with strange details makes you believe that these stories actually happened. I laughed out loud when I read "Two Thousand Germans in Frankenmuth"....