Zerostrata [Kindle Edition]

Andersen Prunty (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Dreams are hopes, and echoes of hope." --Neil Gaiman

Like Terry Gilliam at his most surreal, directing a re-imagination of Hansel and Gretel.

After ten years, Hansel Nothing returns to his boyhood home, unable to remember anything that has happened to him since he left. Back home, he stays in Zerostrata, a treehouse in the backyard. The Nothing family is as dysfunctional and depressed as ever. His mother keeps a cat on her head and incessantly munches prescription medication. His father has left the house to pursue a career as a superhero. His brother wants to be the dad's superhero sidekick and thinks he can fly.

Hansel's life is changed forever when he meets Gretel, a free-spirited woman who runs naked through the woods every night. She teaches him about a world of magic and beauty. They travel to the moon together via a rope ladder, sail back to earth in an air balloon, and wander through a graveyard that allows them to view the dreams of the dead all while trying to escape Gretel's evil Grandmother.

Featuring: a gingerbread house surrounded by bear traps, lettuce pirates, The Amazing Dr. Blast, a one-legged pogo stick man, a giant orange trampoline, and Tricky the cigarette smoking cat who lives on Hansel's mother's head.

From the Inside Flap

"A hauntingly beautiful story...Terry Gilliam would feel right at home directing an adaptation of this." - LITERARY STRANGE DIGEST

"Especially satisfying!" - THE CHICAGO CENTER FOR LITERATURE AND PHOTOGRAPHY

"An extremely entertaining and touching work of fiction from Bizarro author Andersen Prunty, Zerostrata proves to be an amazingly compelling and insightful story about the loss of innocence, and the struggle to regain what was lost." - THE DREAM PEOPLE

"Absolutely beyond belief!" - LANCE CARBUNCLE, author of Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed

"Zerostrata looks at lost dreams and dysfunctional families while providing a most unusual romance inside of a warped re-telling of a classic fairy tale." - The Antibacterial Pope

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 232 KB
• Print Length: 144 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Eraserhead Press (September 3, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00213K7ZC
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,129 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 Love is a Bizarre Dream on a Trampoline, November 10, 2009

By 

J. Krall "Horror/Bizarro/Noir Author" (Noir Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zerostrata (Paperback)

This is the third book by Andersen Prunty I've read. The first was THE OVERWHELMING URGE which I liked despite my general dislike of flash fiction. The second was JACK AND MR. GRIN a Koontz-like suspense tale with enough weirdness and hinted-at perversion to really keep things interesting.

My finances finally allowed me to get another batch of books and one of those was ZEROSTRATA, the third book by the author to be published by Eraserhead Press. I'll be honest that I was not as excited to go into this one only because from what I've heard, it was basically a love story with a positive theme and I guess I like my reading material to be on the darker side of things. Still, since I already liked Prunty's work I knew I had to give it a try because I also heard that it was a deeply personal book.

First, it's well-written so that's always a plus. Second, the plot is very dream-like without being overly weird. It reminded me of that children's book The Petite Prince a little bit. In fact, I'd say this could easily be adapted into a children's story or movie. The theme of "coming home again" is a common one but here it's done in a mysterious yet positive way.

I guess it's the cynic in me that would say that if you don't like love stories or ones about finding that true happiness, then you might want to skip this one in favor of another Prunty book. But even I found it entertaining, funny, and intriguing so even if you are a cynical person, skipping it might be a bad idea because aside from those themes, the situations in this book are unique and funny. At the very least, it's an entertaining page-turner and what else could you want from a book? But it has a lot more heart than most page-turners.

The whole book really comes across like a big dream... full of that dream-logic that makes sleeping either really fun or really terrifying. I like that. Prunty doesn't overdo it either. There is a lot of bizarro/absurdist fiction that tries too hard to be surreal or dreamlike only to end up with random situations with only a minimal plot or indea to keep it together. ZEROSTRATA is all about character and plot. It's a simple love story, basically, and seems to have been written straight from the heart, adding nothing more and giving nothing less. He's less a storyteller here (such as in JACK AND MR. GRIN) and more of someone who is letting you come along for the ride.

So pick if up if you feel like reading a bizarro yet sweet love story that you could share with your loved ones.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prunty does it again, November 19, 2008

By 

Lance Carbuncle (Tampa, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zerostrata (Paperback)

I am a fan of Andersen Prunty's books so it's no surprise that I enjoyed Zerostrata. Mr. Prunty has a knack for telling a whacked out story and making it believable. Some of the more "out there" books that I have read really seem to try too hard to show how bizarre they are and it comes off as forced and detracts from the story. It's as if some authors have to scream it at you, "look at me, I'm crazy and so is my book. My book is so crazy and hard to follow and if you don't get it then you're just a big square." Not so with Mr. Prunty's work. That is where his talent lies. He can tell a story that is absolutely beyond belief, yet the quirky and surreal aspects of Mr. Prunty's writings actually enhance the story. Once again, Andersen Prunty does a fine job of representing the Bizarro movement with Zerostrata.

Lance Carbuncle, author of Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Life Gives You Nothing, You're Sure To Find Something, July 13, 2011

By 

Sarah A. Shaw "Sgt. Flardface" (Fairbanks, Alaska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zerostrata (Paperback)

Can you go home again? If you do, are you sure that you wanted to? Hansel Nothing returns to his family's depressing home after ten years of doing things that he can't remember. When he meets the girl of his dreams (actually, it's someone else's dream) Hansel is introduced to a world where anything is possible. I adore this story. Simply, it's a story about life, love and the pursuit of happiness. It's also about shedding the past and moving on. Oh, and trampolines. It's also about trampolines.