Description
An exciting and surreal book of refreshingly weird stories about depression, sadness, ennui, and confusion.
EVERYTHING IS TOTALLY FINE is a collection of surreal and inventive stories ranging from six sentences to eight pages. Even though its main themes seem to be despair, depression, boredom, confusion, and fear, readers may find themselves smiling, laughing, excited, startled, moved, and inspired while reading it.
Animals in this book include ants, mice, birds, dogs, octopuses, sharks, whales. Settings include kitchens, bathrooms, camping grounds, gas stations, graveyards, rocket ships, golf courses. Activities include driving, converting files, setting things on fire, eating pizza, showering, planking, and visiting the White House.
Fiction. Short Stories.
"Apocalyptic fire, gnostic world-hatred and the philosophy of futility, reveal themselves in mundane absurdities and banalities. Zac Smith shows us that we're still not nihilistic enough; we're still too hopeful. This book sends out dark but mirthful energy waves into the night."
—Lars Iyer, author of Spurious, Wittgenstein Jr, and Nietzsche and the Burbs
"Stories that will surprise you again and again with touching revelations about the lonely insanity of our world. Refreshingly bold and insane."
—Mark Leidner, author of Returning the Sword to the Stone
"Zac's book helped me see the world in new and surprising ways, which is my favorite thing books can do. These stories are lovely."
—Andrew Weatherhead, author of $50,000
"The stories on pages 3, 14, 22, 24, 29, 31, 34, 41, 43, 56, 62, 64, 76, 87, 89, 93, 96, 97, 103, 105, 107, 110, 111, 115, 118, 121, 122, 124,126, 135, 143, 144, 146 made me laugh. The stories on pages 3, 12, 22, 27, 29, 31, 34, 39, 43, 49, 54, 56, 58, 62, 69, 72, 74, 75, 76, 83, 86, 87, 93, 97, 103, 114, 122, 126, 135, 140 caused me to feel pleasantly heartached in their relation of truths I've either observed independently, or that I came to understand about life, as I read. The stories on pages 3, 14, 29, 34, 41, 43, 49, 56, 62, 64, 75, 76, 83, 89, 93, 96, 103, 107, 110, 111, 115, 118, 124, 126, 135, 144 struck me as original, imaginative, and surprising (tonally, structurally, and/or in subject matter); I had no idea where these stories were going. The main image of the story on page 43 has popped into my mind around ten times since reading this collection two months ago; I think about it often when driving. After reading the stories on pages 29, 93, 144, I handed the book to another person who I excitedly told to 'read this,' who did so and laughed, said things like 'wtf,' and read sentences aloud that had also delighted me when I'd read them."
—Megan Boyle, author of Liveblog
Author Bio
Zac Smith is the author of EVERYTHING IS TOTALLY FINE (Muumuu House, 2021) and 50 Barn Poems (2019). His writing has been published by Hobart, X-Ray, Maudlin House, New World Writing, Wigleaf, Bending Genres, and other magazines.
Author City: MAYNARD, MA USA