Short Story Sunday: Jubilation, T.C. Boyle

Tooth and Claw Cover

Jubilation, T.C. Boyle

While it’s pretty obvious that Boyle is making a point about Disney World (“Contash World” is what he calls it), this is a story about an Everyman discovering that starting over doesn’t mean leaving himself behind (actually, I’m certain—after reading this again for the first time in a decade–that this is what inspired the central theme in my Disney Parks-set collection Skeletons in the Swimmin’ Hole).

What truly makes this piece worth the read is the hilarious first-person narrative of the protagonist, who brings central Florida and the quirky characters he meets to life in such vivid rendering it’s hard to believe you’re reading fiction (spoiler alert: it’s also like he predicted a recent alligator attack approximately a dozen years before it happened…it’s a little bit creepy). You can find “Jubilation” in Boyle’s collection Tooth and Claw: https://amzn.com/0143037439

About kristipetersenschoonover

A ghost story writer who still sleeps with the lights on, Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s fiction has appeared in many magazines and anthologies; her traditionally published books include a short story collection, THE SHADOWS BEHIND. She was the recipient of three Norman Mailer Writers Colony Residencies and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College. She serves as co-host of the DARK DISCUSSIONS podcast, as founding editor of the dark literary journal 34 ORCHARD, and is a member of both the New England Horror Writers and the Horror Writers Association. Follow her adventures at kristipetersenschoonover.com.

Posted on December 11, 2016, in Short Stories and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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