{"product_id":"cartoons-9780872869288","title":"Cartoons","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of\u003ci\u003e The Millions\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Books for Spring !\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSet in the uncanny valley between Bugs Bunny and Franz Kafka, \u003ci\u003eCartoons\u003c\/i\u003e is an explosive series of outrageous, absurdist tales.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"The true surrealist is unblinking, convulsive, and cheerfully open to the mysterious flow, into their texts, of mythic and archetypal elements operating beyond their conscious control. In \u003ci\u003eCartoons\u003c\/i\u003e, Kit Schluter vaults into the zone of Julio Cort?zar, Richard Brautigan, and late Giorgio di Chirico, where the reader breaths the air of pure freedom attained rattling inside the chains of self.\"\u003cb\u003e--Jonathan Lethem, author of \u003ci\u003eMotherless Brooklyn\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than simply a book, \u003ci\u003eCartoons\u003c\/i\u003e proposes itself as a genre of imaginary writing in opposition to the realism of most contemporary U.S. fiction, aligning itself with the French symbolism and Latin American fabulism its author is known to translate. A giant cricket with a tiny Kit Schluter in a jar, The Girl Who Is a Piece of Paper, an umbrella who confuses the words \u003ci\u003eporpoise\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003epurpose\u003c\/i\u003e in its quest for self-fulfillment, these are just a few denizens of its pages, suffused with a fairy tale-like animism. A pair of slugs go on a bender. A microwave oven decries microaggressions. A beer bottle is filled with regret. An escalator mechanic's shoe conceals a terrible secret.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs befits its title, \u003ci\u003eCartoons\u003c\/i\u003e defies the laws of physics and fiction alike, eschewing tonal consistency in favor of a simultaneity of joy and horror, ecstasy and disgust, wrapped in an extravagant layer of black humor. The stories blur the boundary between microfiction and poet's prose, featuring impossible transformations and surrealistic events, even as they wrestle with urgent psychic and moral dilemmas. Heightening the atmosphere of pervasive unreality are a number of drawings by the author, which don't so much illustrate as parallel the tales with their own fantastic scenarios.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKit Schluter\u003c\/b\u003e's recent work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eBoston Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBOMB\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eBrooklyn Rail\u003c\/i\u003e. He is author of the poetry collection \u003ci\u003ePierrot's Fingernails\u003c\/i\u003e (Canarium Books). He has translated widely from the French and Spanish, including works by Rafael Bernal (New Directions), Copi (Inpatient Press, New Directions), bruno darío (Ugly Duckling Press(e)), Mario Levrero (\u0026amp; Other Stories), Marcel Schwob (Wakefield Press), and Olivia Tapiero (Nightboat Books). He recently illustrated Sebastian Castillo's novel \u003ci\u003eSALMON\u003c\/i\u003e. Kit coordinates production and design for Nightboat Books and lives in Mexico City.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"City Lights Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50612585693458,"sku":"9780872869288","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_13d3c42b-462a-40c8-8ac8-86e5de8cda50.jpg?v=1732375933","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/cartoons-9780872869288","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}