The Overwhelming Urge [Kindle Edition]

Andersen Prunty (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

It is a world where men wake up with laser beams for eyes and wives play sadistic practical jokes. It is a world where body parts randomly fall off and fathers turn into antelopes. In this world, vampires and spontaneous combustions are a constant threat. THE OVERWHELMING URGE is a collection of bizarro flash fiction, containing ridiculous characters and absurd stories reminiscent of David Lynch and Franz Kafka. Written at knifepoint in a burning room, this book will make you think of a dirty comedian raving from Freud's couch.

From the Inside Flap

"The comedy brings to mind the darker moments of Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall and the Upright Citizen's Brigade." - GARRETT COOK, author of Jimmy Plush, Teddy Bear Detective

"If prose-poet Russel Edson could possibly get stranger and weirder than he already is, he'd write flash fiction like Andersen Prunty." - RICH RISTOW, author of Into the Cruel Sea

"Nice. 66 shocking little dreams, told starkly and without pretension, that somehow add up to an inner landscape painting of tiny victories and aching defeats." - MYKLE HANSEN, author of Help! A Bear is Eating Me!

"It's funny, weird funny. Bizarro funny. Absurd, gross funny." - JORDAN KRALL, author of Fistful of Feet

"Prunty's flash fiction is sick, quirky, and damn funny. Some of the pieces seem completely pointless and are still entertaining (welcome to bizarro). Others are insightful, disturbing, and humorous all at the same time. These are short stories worth checking out." - LANCE CARBUNCLE, author of Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 174 KB
• Print Length: 140 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Eraserhead Press (February 3, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00213KFZE
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,029 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Andersen Prunty is an American fiction writer. In 2006 he won an online contest sponsored by The Harrow and judged blindly by Ramsey Campbell and Brian Keene for his story "Rayles." His first book, a collection of weird little stories called THE OVERWHELMING URGE, was published in 2008 by Eraserhead Press. In 2009, two of his books (THE OVERWHELMING URGE and ZEROSTRATA) were nominated for the Wonderland Book Award. He is also the author of MY FAKE WAR, MORNING IS DEAD, and THE BEARD, among others. He currently lives in Dayton, Ohio. Visit him on the web at www.andersenprunty.com or contact him via email at [e-mail]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Save Our Sandwhiches, April 17, 2008

By 

J. Barnes "earsphere" (Landover Hills, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Overwhelming Urge (Paperback)

The Overwhelming Urge has a certain underlying rhythm to it, like the dots and dashes of an SOS distress call. These shorts roll over the reader, wave upon wave, drawing a haplessly logical audience further from shore or any other recognizable reference point. Is it reasonable to wake up with laser beam eyes? Perhaps. Does it follow that if everyone in a village was named Johnson, and they didn't have first names, then you'd have to refer to them by their house numbers? Well that does seem logical, doesn't it?

Andersen's style is spare, almost apologetically polite. However his topics are often violent, perverse or gross creating a perpetual awkward moment that can only be relieved with behind-the-hand giggling. The best thing about this collection is that you absolutely never know what's going to be around the next period. I just dare you to guess! There are lots of surprises and, though the stories are short, there's a lot to think about. For instance the titles often seem unobtrusive but once you've read the story they take on new and surprising meaning.

The Overwhelming Urge is a must-read for anyone who enjoys the work of D. Harlan Wilson or absurdist fiction in general. However people who like intricate or predictable plotting and complex characters will not find much to sustain them.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fans of Bizarro Fiction, Richard Brautigan, and Woody Allen will all feel right at home, August 26, 2009

By 

Spock (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Overwhelming Urge (Paperback)

Had Richard Brautigan lived to experience the nineties, he might have written The Overwhelming Urge. Like the best of Brautigan, these stories explode the painful inanity of the commonplace into vibrant, surreal comedies that intensify the everyday world as they distort it. The collection is even more impressive because Andersen Prunty deftly executes this feat in nearly all 66 stories, truly an accomplishment for any collection, let alone a first. Among my favorite tales are "The Joke," in which a man's wife serves him divorce papers, "The Bright Side," where the narrator's father turns into an antelope, and "Breakfast," but every story in here deserves to be read numerous times. And considering that many of them are only one page long, it's easy to pick up anytime and fall back into old favorites or discover stories that may have been missed the first time. Recommended to everyone who has ever felt urgently overwhelmed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flash Fiction At Its BEST!, August 26, 2011

By 

R. Moschgat Jr. (McVeytown, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Overwhelming Urge (Kindle Edition)

The Overwhelming Urge is bursting with stories but stories that are fast, fun, and awesome. You will laugh, cry, cringe, and a bunch of other things as you read through this offering from Mr. Prunty.
I have yet to read anything by this author that has disappointed me! Pick this one up today! Like me you won't be able to stop once you start!