NEWS RELEASE — Big Air & Eight Smaller Fictions, the new book from Stuart Greenbaum, forecasts a future we should definitely talk about — literally, though not excessively. As the story goes, out-of-control blathering is rapidly depleting the planet’s breathable oxygen.
Olivia and Mordecai, the young couple who alternatingly narrate the story, teach us and one another how talking too much and thinking too hard, respectively, endangers not only their relationship but humankind. Further muddying this dystopian scenario is the opportunistic Big Air industry’s commoditization of “fresh air” in personal cannisters. The ease with which selfishness and willful ignorance trounce the need to conserve natural resources turns the anthropogenic fiction into a real, cautionary tale.
Along with the title story, the 160-page book features eight smaller fictions offering novel takes on a variety of human conditions. From longevity, morbidity and memory to curiosity and humility to road rage and propaganda, each story allows readers to inhabit, possibly even embrace, the slightly off-center fictional worlds.
On the subject of longevity, Greenbaum, 70, adeptly writes on coming of age with its inherent advantages, challenges, and eccentricities.
Consider the wisdom and trickery of infirmed Cy Youngman, aka “Blue Opossum,” who uses his unique skillset to show his young caregivers some valuable life lessons. Then there’s George who dares to manipulate his inexplicably enduring and recurring rememories before it’s too late. On a more serious note, “The Pill” poignantly navigates the purgatory between the early and late stages of Alzheimer’s. And in “So Righteous” the newly minted centenarian enthusiastically confabulates tales of historical and fantastical proportions.
Several more short stories tackle the frustration and impatience that invariably, though not exclusively, comes with growing older. Rude drivers get their comeuppance in “All the Rage” and “Bullseye,” in turn suffering the targeted wrath of fellow motorists. “I Am Infinity” metaphorically schools us on the significance of curiosity and comprehension. And playfully, over lunch at the famous Katz’s Deli in 1951 New York City, a public relations mastermind counsels Jesus on the worthiness of the messiah’s official Earthly return.
Big Air & Eight Smaller Fictions is Greenbaum’s seventh book, including the recent novella Humble Sky. His frequent essays on cultural affairs and public relations are posted at humblesky.net. He lives in Sacramento, California.
Big Air & Eight Smaller Fictions is available for purchase for $16 at greenbaum-pr.com/bigair.
You are always a good read!