One thing I’ve learned from his first two books: Ed Park’s up to something. Just what it is, well that’s for the reader to stumble upon and, for me at least, love every bungling minute of. Just like the Mississippi river appears still on the surface, blanketing torrents that swallow swimmers and spit them out 25 miles downriver, don’t be fooled by his simplistic jokey style (and also kick your shoes off if you fall overboard). He’s up to something. Often oddly self-referential, often levelheadedly off-kilter, often softened by its own bite, these humorous shorts will come back to you the next day to make you say “hey, wait… ha.”
An Oral History of Atlantis by Ed Park, (List Price: $28, Random House, 9780812998993, July 2025)
Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia