Uncle Sam's Carnival of Copulating Inanimals [Paperback]

Kirk Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2010

Reborn as an oozing humanoid composed of vitreous humor after a sudden death via a disembodied hand and a wood chipper, Gary Olstrom found no difficulty in saying goodbye to the life he once knew. After all, he had become quite adept at saying goodbye, to his right arm in a hardware store accident at eight, to his parents in a fiery car crash, to his right leg in a factory mishap, and to the only person who ever tried to help him in an untimely bus collision. What he never prepared for was saying goodbye to misfortune, until he found Uncle Sam's Carnival of Copulating Inanimals. Therein, Gary finds refuge training furniture to copulate before spectators who vomit in applause. But while Gary's luck shifts for the better, cities left in the wake of the carnival's visits disappear; many are murdered. With his pet desk Akimbo and his empty-socketed girlfriend-turned-futon, Liberty, Gary attempts to unravel this mystery, culminating in a re-imagining of America to rival that of Benedict Anderson's! Well, not quite...but there is furniture porn.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jones is likely an indiscriminate reader and consumer of various media. You read and watch enough, your voice becomes full of the best of what affects you. This was an excellent, strange, well-written, inventive book and I definitely recommend it." -IReadOddBooks ireadoddbooks.com/

"Uncle Sam's Carnival of Copulating Inanimals earns its bizarro stripes on every page of this trim, offbeat saga." -Marc Schuster, Small Press Reviews.

From the Author

Uncle Sam's Carnival of Copulating Inanimals was written in response to my M.A. Thesis on identity loss during the American Industrial Revolution. In part, the response rests in a theoretical context, as the text features many allusions to identity loss during this time period. Additionally, the text is a response to my M.A. Thesis work in the context of style. After working on a text heavily guided by research and the theoretical works of those before me, I not only wanted, but needed to break away by writing something sparked by imagination alone. Bizarro writing is what helped keep my passion for creative writing alive while I was submerged in academia. It only seemed fitting that after taking a break from pursuing my PhD, that my recent attempts at creative writing would fall into the same genre. 

If you're feeling bogged down by the endless toil of pursuing a degree and hiding behind a stack of research in your local library, or you're just growing tired of the predictable genre conventions associated with your favorite series, maybe it is time to check out bizarro. And if it is . . . why not let the NBAS texts be your introduction to this genre. 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Eraserhead Press (October 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193638325X
• ISBN-13: 978-1936383252
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.2 x 5.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kirk Jones is an instructor of humanities for the State University of New York. His first book, Uncle Sam's Carnival of Copulating Inanimals, was released by Eraserhead Press in October of 2010. His work has appeared in, or will soon be appearing inThe New Flesh: Episode I, Technicolor Tentacles, Told You So, A Hacked-Up Holiday Massacre, and Winter Chills.

You can find his work online at the following sites: Unicorn Knife Fight, The New Flesh and Bizarro Central.

More information on Kirk Jones and the bizarro movement can be found at www.bizarrojones.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Weird. Fun. Awesome. November 29, 2010

By Caris O'Malley

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

So I was sitting in my living room this afternoon, just chillin' and reading this book. I had to stop about midway through to try something. After carefully marking my place and putting the book in a safe spot, I promptly removed the laces from my shoes and cracked them like whips.

"Copulate!" I said to the couch and gestured toward a rocking chair. It didn't move. "Darn you! Copulate!"

And, yet, it still did absolutely nothing. And it made me sad. Because a world in which you cannot make your various pieces of furniture make love to one another is a world that isn't for me. I had to compromise with myself by returning to the book and leaving my laces, virtually unused, on the coffee table.

What I just wrote may or may not be true. But that's not for you to decide. What is also not for you to decide is whether or not you want to read Kirk Jones' furniture fornicating extravaganza. Dear friend, you do.

Here's what I really like about Mr. Jones. He's all about something he calls "pure bizarro." What this refers to is bizarro that is free from the gratuitous sex and violence that seems to dominate the genre. Jones is looking for a story that's weird and not just about shock value. Because of this, his narrative is strikingly different from others of its kind. His is a sad story about a man composed entirely of human tears. There is so much weird stuff going on that you'll think you've been dropped into some cross between Dr. Seuss and the Twilight Zone.

And this, of course, is a wonderful thing. In addition to the protagonist, you've got Liberty, his lady friend. She's niece to Uncle Sam (proprietor of the carnival) and lacks eyes. What she does have are the loveliest, darkest sockets you've ever seen. And then there's Mr. Wakefield, the dishonest, unethical hardware store owner (who is not averse to hiding the dead bodies of his customers in the dumpster behind his store) whose tutelage leaves a lasting impression on Gary, the boy made of tears. It's disorienting, really, to watch this quest unfold, undertaken by such strange characters and to, simultaneously, care about what's going on.

With this book, Kirk Jones has proven himself to be a forward thinker in the bizarro movement. I look forward to his next project with much anticipation. Now, if you'll excuse me, the couch is whispering my name and I think she means business.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sweaty fabrics and gooey men November 29, 2010

By Edmund R. Colell

Format:Paperback

The pain of being alive rarely extends to becoming an entity made of tears. That's not to say that Gary, the protagonist of Kirk Jones' book, has not been taking things in stride. After all, being given a job to train furniture to make love is enough to take the pain away, right? After all, it has to be better than losing an arm, then a leg, then your parents and your entire body. At least you'll be popular on a hot summer's day.

While the summer's day possibility is not explored in Uncle Sam's Carnival of Copulating Inanimals, there is enough here to make up the difference. Gary's new job as an inanimal trainer is a challenging one, as unruly couches may ruin a performance and it may break one's heart to find the bottom of any lovemaking session being shattered to pieces at the end. It doesn't help that the boss is the stop-at-nothing manifestation of the American Dream and the boss's niece is an eyeless girl that has the hots for him. Fortunately in this case, the feeling is mutual. And like the relationship between Gary and Liberty (said niece), my relationship with USCoCI has been pretty pleasant. It seduces through fascinating concepts (the sheer bevy of which could charm the panties off of a nun), kisses through character background (giving the tongue when it came to Gary), and touches the best possible places for off-kilter humor (a child named Self-Glorified Hedonism? Why I think I feel goosebumps).

A few of its advances are not quite as satisfying, however. The dialogue occasionally felt a bit awkward in drama-heavy places, such as in the case of "No... This is some kind of trick." Without mentioning the character who said it or the context, I still personally feel that a line such as that one could have been a bit stronger for the situation that it was in. The other issue I found, and I won't lay blame on the author for this one, is that the back cover gives the fate of one character that is revealed more than halfway through the book.

USCoCI is nonetheless a damn good affair. When it offers a show of furniture engaging each other to Marvin Gaye, take the offer with open arms.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Subversive High-brow Bizarro! November 25, 2010

By Jason Wuchenich

Format:Paperback

I couldn't help but think of "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" once I reached the meat of this well crafted work of subversive bizarro.

Kirk Jones delivers a creative look at the power of belief and self-esteem. The setting created is one of a nervous dream (not nightmarish, but definitely unsettling) punctuated with humor and satire. Although some spots are a bit long-winded and others get glossed over, the overall flow of the story is quite engaging. I could tell which parts were rushed and I wish some of these parts were a bit more detailed. However, the aspect of imagination that this story conveys allows the reader to conjour one's own details - which is a quality I respect because these particular elements are not spoon-fed to us and are, what I believe, to be intentionally thought-provoking.

Tackling such a diverse collection of outlandish ideas is no easy feat, but this story guides the reader through each concept with relative ease. This is a 'thinker's' book that encourages introspection and provides fuel for new perspectives. I got the feeling that each nuance of character description and encounter were not just random ideas, but well placed symbols of American society.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of high-brow bizarro, because that's exactly what it is. I am really looking forward to seeing what Kirk Jones is capable of in his next book.