“My Very End of the Universe is indispensable reading for anyone who loves fiction that defies categorization—and for anyone who simply loves engrossing stories cast in superb prose. Each of these novellas-in-flash is exquisite in its own distinct way, and collectively they demonstrate what is possible when we break the traditional confines of form and dare to invent something new.”
—Laura van den Berg, author of The Isle of Youth
“In tornado-flung trailer parks and icy lakes, citrus groves and drugstore aisles, the characters of My Very End of the Universe yearn to soar like Superman but are, more often, prayed for. Daughters struggle to rescue mothers, sons clobber the weak, outlaws menace and bedazzle—and in 1893, a newborn says ‘Hello?’ in a tiny, astonishing voice. Compact, intense, and thrilling, these five novellas-in-flash show us that even in the smallest spaces, we can learn how to fly.”
—Rebecca Meacham, author of Let’s Do and Morbid Curiosities
“The five novellas-in-flash in My Very End of the Universe are excellent type specimens of the genre, and the accompanying craft essays help give this chimeric form a theory and a practice. Writers interested in story structure owe it to themselves to add this book to their office bookshelves, but it’s adventurous readers who will surely benefit the most, finding themselves thrilled by the surprising tales within.”
—Matt Bell, author of In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods
'These are the people we don’t read enough about—people who don’t have enough and won’t ever make enough but get by anyway… In the final story, 'Bottle Rockets,’ Cherry Tree and Clay are lighting fireworks: ‘Multicolored balls of fire scattered in all directions and then exploded as they dropped. We ooh’d and ah’d while wave after wave of luminous fury danced around our heads.’ If there is a phrase that could capture the power of Shampoo Horns it would be “luminous fury”—the bright intense energy of Teel’s prose, it illuminates.'
—Roxane Gay, author of An Untamed State and Bad Feminist
“At the end of his passage about the explosions like bottle rockets, Kerouac writes that ‘in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!’’ So it is with Shampoo Horns, a fearless, fabulous flash across the stars.”
—Randall Brown, author of Mad to Live