BLURBS

“Devilishly brilliant—a bewitching mix of metafiction and marketing.” 

— The New York Times 

“In just 400 words, this piece dismantles the history of modern literature and pieces it back together again.” 

— The Los Angeles Times 

“The central conceit — a humor piece composed entirely of blurbs about that humor piece — reads like a Möbius strip tied around Jorge Luis Borges’s finger.” 

— The Boston Globe 

“Every writer dreams of writing his own blurbs. This writer has done that, and only that, and benefited immensely from it. His sly wit conceals a grand scheme, and the completion of that scheme only intensifies the power of that wit.” 

— The Washington Post 

“After the first blurb, you’ll find yourself confused. After the second, amused. But by the fourth or fifth, you’ll find yourself cheering.” 

— USA Today 

“Initial bemusement will turn to wonder — this is sophisticated stuff indeed.” 

— Kirkus Reviews 

“Imagine a cross between the blurbs from The Bridges of Madison County and the blurbs from Infinite Jest.” 

— The Cleveland Plain Dealer 

“Marvelous . . . Bracing . . . A short, sharp work combining myth and romance, social commentary and poetry.” 

— Publishers Weekly 

“A splendid piece, beautifully conceived and crafted…no other collection of blurbs this year comes close.” 

— The San Jose Mercury News 

“If John Barth met Samuel Beckett in a bar, and the two of them got into a cab, and the cab picked up Andy Kaufman, and then the cab driver turned around, and it was Dorothy Parker, that would be awfully strange. It would also be the rough equivalent of this marvelous short work.” 

— The Baltimore Sun 

“‘Blurbs’ demonstrates a fresh talent at play in the fields of his mind. Expert command of the blurb form and a wickedly clever worldview add up to pay dirt. Ignore this piece at your own peril!” 

— The San Francisco Chronicle 

“Marked by a rare piquancy, this collection of blurbs sneaks up on you, and before you know it, you’re in its clutches. This is fascinating comedy, with energy to spare. Bravo!” 

—The Chicago Tribune

©Ben Greenman/Stupid Ideas