The Sadness of Sex

From the manThe New York Times BookReviewcalled "an uncommondiagnostician of the curiosities of the human heart" andhailed on NPR (National Public Radio) as "thestand-up comedian of the unconscious" comesthis extraordinary new collction of metaphor-rich,wildly imaginative short-short stories. BarryYourgrau, who performs his written work in clubsacross the country and on NPR, Comedy Central, MTVsSpoken Word programs, and in an upcoming one-manfeature film, now explores the imagination's twilightterrain in which love, lust, and loss reside inthis achingly beautiful and rich surreal tour deforce. An affair with a cannibal woman is filled withdevouring kisses. A flower sprouts from a woman'sflesh wherever a man kisses her, impeding theirlovemaking. An abandoned lover seeks repair of thecuckoo clock that is his heart. Exploring thearchetypal he-and-she from the first glance to thelast tortured look, this exhilirating new collectionof flash-fiction--short-short stories thematicallyconnected--merges Freud with Fellini, Kafka withWoody Allen. At once sad, alarming, and wickedlybrilliant, Barry Yourgrau is, in the uneasy land ofdesire and heartbreak, the spokesman for oursecret self.