{"product_id":"big-fish-in-a-small-a-i-wand-9798653238420","title":"Big Fish in a Small Pond: Black \u0026 White Edition: Selected Stories from Something in the Middle","description":"\u003cp\u003eOnce upon a time, we used to be younger. We didn't take our world quite so seriously. Life was at least a little bit funny, and expectations were not so ridiculously high. Instead of wringing our hands and shaking our fists so much, we laughed. We cried and joked. We witnessed absurdities and tragedies, but tried to appreciate the present; failing that, we hoped for a better tomorrow.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot so today. Fun, and its co-conspirators levity, frivolity, and gaiety, seem alien in the midst of this arduous year. As we trudge through 2020-which history may look back upon as being The Most Somber, Humorless Year on Record - these joyous elements are sorely lacking from our days. It often seems like The Zombie Apocalypse is upon us, only without all the zombies. With apologies to David Byrne, perhaps The Talking Heads Apocalypse rings truer. We are a planet of paid and unpaid pundits.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSomething in the Middle\u003c\/strong\u003e by A.I. Wand offers us a paranormal - slash - extranormal reprieve of sorts from the Big Serious Issues of Our Day - at least for a few hours. It is a contemporary fiction anthology designed to surprise and delight. It pays gleeful tribute to legions of its Science Fiction, Horror, Satire, Parody, and Romantic forebears from the last century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe subtitle - \u003cstrong\u003eSmall Stories from the Far Side of Consciousness\u003c\/strong\u003e - alludes to the book's atypical architecture and often surreal tone. Once it may have been dubbed Post-Modern or even Experimental, but today \u003cstrong\u003eSITM\u003c\/strong\u003e is happy just to think of itself as a grateful homage to its myriad inspirations, albeit one which falls 2 or 3 standard deviations from the mean. As we learn in Chapter 1, \u003cstrong\u003eSITM\u003c\/strong\u003e \"is not exactly a normal book.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIts companion volume, \u003cstrong\u003eBig Fish in a Small Pond - Selected Stories from Something in the Middle\u003c\/strong\u003e, is a bargain-priced sampler of some of the longer stories from the anthology. Many of \u003cstrong\u003eSITM\u003c\/strong\u003e's fictions could be confused with microfictions for their length - but they are part of a larger, cohesive arc that binds them all together. Most of the short stories stand-alone very nicely, thank you very much. Six of \u003cstrong\u003eSITM\u003c\/strong\u003e's yarns were cloned then relocated to \u003cstrong\u003eBig Fish \u003c\/strong\u003epurely for promotional purposes. There was nothing artistic about the decision other than to select stand-alone stories that didn't spoil too many surprises.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing thematic elements from \u003cstrong\u003eAesop's Fables\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Twilight Zone, \u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eand classic Silver Screen Horrors, these quirky, fast-paced fictions are also indebted to cartoons and comic strips, TV sitcoms, as well as to rock opera and pop music song suites. At times dramatic, humorous, and occasionally even poignant, they present a skewed, often sideways view of our world and its inhabitants.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside, we encounter a diversity of characters - witches, a voodoo practitioner, a mad scientist, a demented surgeon, a sadistic psychiatrist, a crazy clown, and even pets. In other words, just another typical day in 2020. The difference is, in \u003cstrong\u003eSITM\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eBig Fish\u003c\/strong\u003e, all these weirdos are \u003cem\u003esupposed to be\u003c\/em\u003e acting strangely. Despite being too much to ask of reality anymore, we still crave normalcy. When it evades us, we make a game of seeking strangeness which we can, to some extent, control. After all, it's up to us whether we binge the next season or turn the page.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese atmospheric short fictions are sometimes self-aware, sometimes break the fourth wall, and frequently deliver satisfying, thought provoking endings that linger for awhile and invite a second look. Loaded with stunning, enigmatic visuals, \u003cstrong\u003eSITM \u003c\/strong\u003eand \u003cstrong\u003eBig Fish\u003c\/strong\u003e, are modern fiction anthologies for both the Twitter Generation and the Twister Generatio\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e A. I. Wand\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798653238420\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/31\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 122\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.38lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.02h x 5.98w x 0.26d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"A. I. Wand","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48851815465215,"sku":"9798653238420","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/big-fish-in-a-small-a-i-wand-9798653238420","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}