Publisher Description
A raw and remarkable debut story collection concerning substance abuse, societal alienation, and doomed romance from a writer whose work has appeared in prestigious literary journals including The Paris Review.
An amusement park employee overdoses after eating the gel of a fentanyl patch. Two homeless men discover the body of a drowned woman. A sister encounters a dangerous stranger while driving her brother to rehab. Ex-lovers seek to rekindle their relationship with the aid of an earthquake.
In the nine masterful stories that comprise Thrillville, USA, debut author Taylor Koekkoek depicts Americans living on the margins of society, seeking escape from isolation and underemployment in drugs, booze, and self-destructive relationships. While the action is set largely in the rural Pacific Northwest, the characters’ malaise and disaffectedness is endemic of the country as a whole. The title takes its name from the aforementioned amusement park, but Thrillville is as much a state of mind as an actual place—a sardonic commentary on contemporary America consumed by opioid addiction, social media obsession, wealth inequality and political polarization.
Yet as haunting as these stories are, they are not hopeless. Gorgeously written, they share a transcendental quality—an acknowledgment of and appreciation for the beauty in all things, even the most profane and grotesque.
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About the Narrators
Lisa Larsen is a Los Angeles based voiceover actor who specializes in audiobook narration. She has narrated audiobooks across a wide range of genres, including inspirational stories, thrillers, and young adult paranormals and also lent her voice to radio spots and a variety of training and marketing videos for companies like Mazda and Nexgrill.
Stephen Graybill is an actor, producer, and award-winning voice-over artist. He was seen on television in The Girls Guide to Depravity, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order, and HBO’s The Wire. He has also acted on stage and done voice-overs for commercials, winning both a Gold Clio Award and a Silver Effie Award. He has also worked on over fifty audiobooks, including Jesus Swagger by Jarrid Wilson.
Cindy Kay is a Chinese Thai American narrator and educator who grew up in the California Bay Area and lives in the Rockies. Her work has been described as listening to a “cozy best friend.” She narrates fiction and nonfiction, and has studied Spanish, Portuguese, Thai, and Japanese.