The Insomniac Reader: Stories of the Night (Future Tense) [Paperback]

Kevin Sampsell (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005 | Series: Future Tense

Explore the dark side—literally and figuratively—of evening time with short fiction by Jonathan Ames, Todd Pruzan, Rick Moody, Richard Rushfield, Elizabeth Ellen, Davy Rothbart, Jonathan Lethem, T. Cooper, Monica Drake, Aimee Bender, Jeff Johnson, James Tate, Thorn Kief Hillsbery, Heidi Julavits, Michelle Tea, Dan Kennedy, Stacey Richter, Marshall Moore, and Dave Eggers (writing under the pen name “Lucy Thomas”).

Product Details

• Paperback: 257 pages
• Publisher: Manic D Press, Inc. (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0916397947
• ISBN-13: 978-0916397944
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,534,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Jarring, Creepy, February 9, 2005

By 

The Butler (San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Insomniac Reader: Stories of the Night (Future Tense) (Paperback)

I bought this collection for the Jonathan Lethem story, which turned out to be a funny tale about phone sex and call waiting. I was surprised by the variety of stories here. Thorn Kief Hillsbery writes a disturbing tale of street kids and the creeps that love them, Jonathan Ames offers another hilarious story about his night life, Stacey Richter writes with a strange drug-like tone that is highly charged, Richard Rushfield's story on a stalkers club manages to be creepy, funny, and weirdly honest, and Marshall Moore--a talented writer I hadn't heard of before--end the book with a deceptive little noir. A sort of suicide note with a twist. Ricky Moody has a nice, heartfelt story in here too. As does Davy Rothbart. Another name to watch out for: Elizabeth Ellen. Her story here is relentless.

A strong and impressive collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not Your Usual Paint-by-Numbers Collection, August 1, 2005

By 

Joe Brett (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Insomniac Reader: Stories of the Night (Future Tense) (Paperback)

The thing about most anthologies is they sometimes try too hard. They cover too much territory and lose focus of the real essence of the subject. The Insomniac Reader, while not literally being about insomnia, is a great unwavering collection of stories that all take place at night. D.E. Baker mentions something about kitsch in his review below but I don't see it. There's a darker sensibility happening in many stories--drugs and sex of course, but also lost friendship (in the Rick Moody story), hospital mayhem (in the Stacey Richter story), loneliness (Day Rothbart, Elizabeth Ellen, Monica Drake), and street hustling (Thorn Kief Hillsbery). I should also mention that there's some really funny stuff in here too. A few of the "big names" miss the mark but those pieces are the shortest. Overall, this is a collection with many moods and a consistently strong literary quality.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than No-Doz, February 11, 2005

By 

Tod H "Tod H" (Seattle) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Insomniac Reader: Stories of the Night (Future Tense) (Paperback)

Like the cover art depicting a blurry swervedriving ride down a dark freeway, this book will keep you on your toes with your hands tight on the steering wheel. There are a variety of styles and moods here. The disturbing stories are really disturbing. The funny stories are really funny. The odd stories are really odd. The editor, Kevin Sampsell, has been publishing small books on his own small press (Future Tense) for years and this is a good forum for his curating and editing skills. I think the best stories here are from Michelle Tea, Davy Rothbart, Elizabeth Ellen, and Heidi Julavits. If you feel like you don't get out at night enough, you could read this collection for a vicarious thrill.