From Publishers Weekly
Reed (Thinner Than Thou) transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary in this impressive story collection. A nonagenarian Salman Rushdie finally meets his fatwah in "Grand Opening." A determined fan and a little technology control megahit television in "Focus Group." Teenagers in super-secure "High Rise High" rebel and run amok without bothering parents. Toddlers ("Playmate") and infants ("The Shop of Little Horrors") are threats to sanity, while old age ("Old Soldier") is insanity itself. Life ("Incursions") crumbles before we notice, and even if we mastermind our escapes, as in "Into the Jungle" and "No Two Alike," things never go anything at all as expected. Even "The Zombie Prince" isn't what one anticipates. As "Captive Kong" reminds us: "Because things like disease and Armageddon happen to other people, never to us because we are special, what really happens always comes as a surprise." No matter how absurd, these horror stories still sting with truth and ring with humor, often ending with an odd happiness.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Reed's stories sometimes have happy endings despite bleak subjects. She says the high-school story has to end well, so in "High School High," the kids take over a maximum-security high school and wreak havoc until they lose interest; then equilibrium is mostly restored. TV proves to be more than just a show in "Focus Group," two sisters can't escape their father even after he dies in "Yard Sale," and bed sharing goes to terrible extremes in "Escape from Shark Island." Not every story is all fun and games, though. "Precautions" considers germphobia taken past the breaking point, and "Captive Kong" is a charming apocalyptic tale of a boy and the bodybuilder in his basement. There's even a story, the almost-sweet creepy "The Zombie Prince," in which zombies get to be something other than moaning hulks out to eat brains. OK, this isn't cheery, upbeat stuff. Instead, it is a set of marvelous glimpses of the darker side of everything from megamalls to family bonding. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
"Her writing is a treasure house of gems."--Washington Post Book World
"Beauty pageants, hi-tech motherhood, fat farms, game shows-nothing involved in shaping women's expectations is immune from her scrutiny. Most of these stories shine with incisive edginess. Visionary, uncovering humor and horror."--The New York Times Book Review on Weird Women, Wired Women
Praise for Thinner Than Thou:
"'Super-Size Me' meets 'Soylent Green.'"--Entertaintment Weekly
"A clever what-if, Reed's tale is provocative as well as amusing."--People
"Health clubs replace houses of worship in Kit Reed's not-so-science-fiction novel Thinner Than Thou."--Vanity Fair
"Reed's latest is an "if this continues" dystopia in the tradition of John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up or Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Reed has a singular gift for this kind of Swiftian satire, and her book is as funny as it is outraged."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Sink your teeth into this delicious story, a wild, irresistible ride through a not implausible dystopic future."-M. G. Lord, New York Times bestselling author
"When a novel convincingly alters your perspective, it's fair to call it a success. Thinner Than Thou reminds us how shallow beauty can be when it loses its context in body, mind and spirit."--The Philadephia Inquirer
"Kit Reed has written a compelling novel about a world where pursuit of beauty has become mandatory for all. It captures the pain, emptiness, and absurdity of the quest for physical perfection but opens the possibility of liberation from this tyranny. This provocative and engaging book is a must-read for anyone concerned about our culture's increasing obsession with physical appearance."-Ruth Striegel-Moore, co-author of Eating Disorders: Innovative Directions in Research and Practice
"Deliciously satirical . . . a zesty send-up of our contemporary obsession with attaining eternally svelte self-images. Much like such dark, mocking works as Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust, Reed's plot careers hell-bent toward an apocalyptic ending [that] leaves you wanting more."--The Associated Press and Knight-Ridder syndicates
"In a world of Dr Atkins, facelifts, botox and eating disorders, this nightmare vision hits the pressure points like acupuncture. Multi-faceted, witty, and endlessly inventive."-Geoff Ryman
"This particular satire is Reed at her mordant best. A timely, witty page-turner which tells us the truth about ourselves and our society while making us laugh aloud."--Michael Moorcock
"Reed's visionary tale is brilliant."--Booklist
"Stinging and mordantly witty . . . a cast of delicious characters. Reed reaffirms her position as one of our brightest cultural commentators."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Darkly humorous and unsettling, this is an important book."--Romantic Times
"Beauty pageants, hi-tech motherhood, fat farms, game shows-nothing involved in shaping women's expectations is immune from her scrutiny. Most of these stories shine with incisive edginess. Visionary, uncovering humor and horror."--The New York Times Book Review on Weird Women, Wired Women
Praise for Thinner Than Thou:
"'Super-Size Me' meets 'Soylent Green.'"--Entertaintment Weekly
"A clever what-if, Reed's tale is provocative as well as amusing."--People
"Health clubs replace houses of worship in Kit Reed's not-so-science-fiction novel Thinner Than Thou."--Vanity Fair
"Reed's latest is an "if this continues" dystopia in the tradition of John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up or Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Reed has a singular gift for this kind of Swiftian satire, and her book is as funny as it is outraged."--San Francisco Chronicle
"Sink your teeth into this delicious story, a wild, irresistible ride through a not implausible dystopic future."-M. G. Lord, New York Times bestselling author
"When a novel convincingly alters your perspective, it's fair to call it a success. Thinner Than Thou reminds us how shallow beauty can be when it loses its context in body, mind and spirit."--The Philadephia Inquirer
"Kit Reed has written a compelling novel about a world where pursuit of beauty has become mandatory for all. It captures the pain, emptiness, and absurdity of the quest for physical perfection but opens the possibility of liberation from this tyranny. This provocative and engaging book is a must-read for anyone concerned about our culture's increasing obsession with physical appearance."-Ruth Striegel-Moore, co-author of Eating Disorders: Innovative Directions in Research and Practice
"Deliciously satirical . . . a zesty send-up of our contemporary obsession with attaining eternally svelte self-images. Much like such dark, mocking works as Nathanael West's The Day of the Locust, Reed's plot careers hell-bent toward an apocalyptic ending [that] leaves you wanting more."--The Associated Press and Knight-Ridder syndicates
"In a world of Dr Atkins, facelifts, botox and eating disorders, this nightmare vision hits the pressure points like acupuncture. Multi-faceted, witty, and endlessly inventive."-Geoff Ryman
"This particular satire is Reed at her mordant best. A timely, witty page-turner which tells us the truth about ourselves and our society while making us laugh aloud."--Michael Moorcock
"Reed's visionary tale is brilliant."--Booklist
"Stinging and mordantly witty . . . a cast of delicious characters. Reed reaffirms her position as one of our brightest cultural commentators."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Darkly humorous and unsettling, this is an important book."--Romantic Times
Book Description
The Dogs of Truth contains 17 new or previously uncollected short stories. Included are "High Rise High," about a student revolt at the ultimate "secure" high school; "Focus Group," where a star-struck fan dictates the fate of soap opera characters through a biochip implant; "Escape from Shark Island," which looks at an extreme version of today's trendy "family bed;" and "Precautions," where germ-phobia reigns supreme.
The new stories tell of the "Grand Opening" of the world's largest mega-mall, study the relationship of a writer and his muse in "Getting It Back," and, in "The Shop of Little Horrors," take a dark look at the child-free lifestyle.
The new stories tell of the "Grand Opening" of the world's largest mega-mall, study the relationship of a writer and his muse in "Getting It Back," and, in "The Shop of Little Horrors," take a dark look at the child-free lifestyle.
About the Author
Kit Reed has received two Guggenheim fellowships and an Aspen Institute Rockefeller Fellowship. She has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award; two of her works have been finalists for the James W. Tiptree Award. Kit Reed lives in Middletown, CT and teaches at Wesleyan University.
