ELEPHANTS IN OUR BEDROOM
Hapless, yes, but uncannily familiar—such are the people who move through the stories in Michael Czyzniejewski’s debut fiction collection. The characters are people we know—maybe they’re the people we are—and because of this we can’t help but wonder how or if their troubles will be resolved. It would seem we don’t hold out much hope for these folks—but in fact, we do, and fervently.
“Both wry-funny and absurd-funny, plunging into the everyday and
the outrageous—here’s a bouquet of bright and fun-to-read stories.”
—Aimee Bender, author of Willful Creatures
“Michael Czyzniejewski’s stories are funny and edgy and fantastical. But what sets them apart from every other book with the word ‘fantastical’ on the cover—what makes these stories original and real—is the for-real, beating heart behind each and every word. These stories might include octogenarian parrots, elephants looming in the corners of bedrooms, a thing called sleepmurder, but at heart they deal with the hopes and dreams and fears of everyday lives.”
—Dave Housley, author of Ryan Seacrest is Famous
“Each of these innovative stories is an absolute joy to read. Some are brutally moving, others are whimsical and lighthearted, and all of them shimmer with the refracted light of truth. Michael Czyzniejewski is a literary ventriloquist, a deeply gifted writer capable of countless voices, and Elephants in Our Bedroom is a dazzling collection.”
—Bret Anthony Johnston, author of Corpus Christi: Stories
