Significant Objects

Glenn, Joshua [Editor]; Walker, Rob [Editor]; Grote, Jason [Contributor];

ISBN 10: 1606995251 / ISBN 13: 9781606995259

Published by Fantagraphics Books, 2012

No marks. Minimal use or wear. Seller Inventory # 24020079

Synopsis:

The long-awaited book collection of the acclaimed online literary prose experiment.

SignificantObjects.com, founded by Joshua Glenn and Rob Walker, has published an extraordinary series of 200 stories and counting ― by William Gibson, Curtis Sittenfeld, Sheila Heti, Colson Whitehead, Nicholson Baker, Meg Cabot, Gary Panter, Ben Katchor, Lydia Millet, Jonathan Lethem, and other talented writers ― about ordinary stuff like novelty items, discarded souvenirs, and tasteless kitchenware picked up cheap at thrift stores and yard sales. The goal: To see if commissioning great stories about these insignificant things would increase their value ― as measured in actual eBay auctions. The experiment, in short, was a smash hit, raising money for youth-tutoring organizations. Significant Objects is a hardcover collection of the best one hundred short prose stories, published by Fantagraphics.

Review:

To those who don t believe in the transcendent power of a good story behold: the Significant Objects project.

Like a Salvation Army staffed by brilliant writers...

One of the most life-affirmingly cheeky studies I have seen for ages.

Significant Objects combines one of the oldest of all media the near-improvised short story with the reinvigorated writer-reader relationship afforded by Web 2.0.

Finding magic in unexpected things.

Significant Objects is an incredibly fun, if curious, success, one that toys with the disparity between an object s financial and emotional values, and speaks to our wonderfully human propensity to believe in nonsense.

The short stories are lovely. Some allude to an object s brush with fame; others suggest heartache, loneliness and the occasional bar fight. Each story casts a strange spell on the objects, and on our perception of them.

Finding magic in unexpected things.

To those who don't believe in the transcendent power of a good story ... behold: the Significant Objects project.

Finding magic in unexpected things. "

Bibliographic Details

Title: Significant Objects
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Publication Date: 2012
Binding: Paperback
Condition: Very Good