December 2009: GRANDPA ZINN by Chris Wells
In GRANDPA ZINN, Chris Wells tests the Oulipian theory of the textual constraint and its power to produce surreal, subconscious materials. The author, whose presence dominates the seemingly simplistic narrative, makes sure that every letter of the alphabet appears at least once in each sentence, calling attention to the wonderful artificiality of the characters, the situation, and fiction itself. Curiously, this relentless manipulation of language, with its action-oriented agenda and surprising mixture of registers, results in a quiet, complex, subtly humorous and strangely sad story.
12 pages, staple-bound, delightfully pangrammatic.
