Synopses & Reviews
The author of the widely praised debut novel
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe returns with a hilarious, heartbreaking, and utterly original collection of short stories.
A big-box store employee is confronted by a zombie during the graveyard shift, a problem that pales in comparison to his inability to ask a coworker out on a date.... A fighter leads his band of virtual warriors, thieves, and wizards across a deadly computer-generated landscape, but does he have what it takes to be a hero?... A company outsources grief for profit, its slogan: “Don’t feel like having a bad day? Let someone else have it for you.”
Drawing from both pop culture and science, Charles Yu is a brilliant observer of contemporary society, and in Sorry Please Thank You he fills his stories with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and piercing insight into the human condition. He has already garnered comparisons to such masters as Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, and in this new collection we have resounding proof that he has arrived (via a wormhole in space-time) as a major new voice in American fiction.
Review
“The stories deliver more than their fair share of bitter laughs, philosophical conundrums and existential gut punches.” San Francisco Chronicle
Review
“A mix of science fiction, absurdist humor and Beckettian monologue, with storytelling techniques that twist narrative into a computer-esque objectivism; think Donald Barthleme's strangest pyrotechnics in a Philip K. Dick or Haruki Murakami world.” Shelf Awareness
Review
“Each story in Sorry Please Thank You is staggeringly smart, and none feel like anything but entertainment. Cultish fans of the NBC comedy Community, this book is for you.” The Boston Globe
Review
“Lovely and heartfelt....A brilliantly manic ride....Yu has an undeniable gift for describing, in clean, economical prose, the mechanics of things that don't exist or are impossible." The Wall Street Journal
Review
“Yu's blend of literary fiction's style with sci-fi's wild ideas is beautifully realized here, especially in the moving gem 'Standard Loneliness Package.' One of the year's best collections in any genre.” The Austin American-Statesman
Review
“Enchanting...Yu’s ability to assume widely diverging roles as a storyteller is dazzling....Those not bothered by diverse writing styles will find reading Yu to be an exciting adventure.” Library Journal
Review
“Impressive....Charts eclectic territory, from a zombie in a megamart to a new pharmaceutical drug that generates a sense of purpose, and explores retreats from reality and emotion....[An] amusing send up American consumer culture.” Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
From the National Book Award-winning author of Interior Chinatown, comes a hilarious, heartbreaking, and utterly original collection of short stories.
A big-box store employee is confronted by a zombie during the graveyard shift, a problem that pales in comparison to his inability to ask a coworker out on a date . . . A fighter leads his band of virtual warriors, thieves, and wizards across a deadly computer-generated landscape, but does he have what it takes to be a hero? . . . A company outsources grief for profit, its slogan: "Don't feel like having a bad day? Let someone else have it for you."
Drawing from both pop culture and science, Charles Yu is a brilliant observer of contemporary society, and in Sorry Please Thank You he fills his stories with equal parts laugh-out-loud humor and piercing insight into the human condition. He has already garnered comparisons to such masters as Kurt Vonnegut and Douglas Adams, and in this new collection we have resounding proof that he has arrived (via a wormhole in space-time) as a major new voice in American fiction.
About the Author
Charles Yu is the author of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, which was named one of the best books of the year by Time magazine. He received the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Award for his story collection Third Class Superhero, and was a finalist for the PEN Center USA Literary Award. His work has been published in The New York Times, Playboy, and Slate, among other periodicals. Yu lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Michelle, and their two children.