Whistler's Mother's Son and Other Curiosities

<p><em>Whistler’s Mother’s Son</em> collects over 100 prose pieces of varying length and styles—from minimalism to satire to noir to children’s tale to abstraction to surrealism. Featuring parodies standardized tests nursery-rhyme anxieties fables riddles collaborations conundrums rescued clichés abominations-in-training dark Americana existential misdemeanors misbegotten mysteries identity crises optimistic nihilism formal experimentation and polyrhythmic prose its cast of characters includes Hamlet Gertrude Stein Amelia Earhart Fred Flintstone Mr. Mondrian a little girl whose mother takes up with a smelly old man embattled aunties and uncles a man with two mustaches several hard-boiled dicks and an eternally confused Peter Cherches.</p>