Books › Revenge of the Lawn Stories 1962-1970
Revenge of the Lawn Stories 1962-1970
First published 1971 · 224 pages
A surreal, sun-dazed wander through the eccentricities of 1960s California, blending gentle absurdity with a quiet, lingering heartbreak.
What it feels like
Reading this collection feels like sitting on a porch during a hazy, sun-drenched California afternoon, listening to a brilliant, slightly eccentric friend spin tales that are equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. The pace is decidedly meandering, inviting you to drift through fleeting vignettes and bizarre flashes of insight rather than rushing toward a conclusion. The prose is deceptively simple, masking startling, poetic metaphors that catch you off guard. It is a deeply nostalgic and surreal experience, capturing the fading innocence of the counterculture with a wry, gentle detachment. Fans of Kurt Vonnegut or Denis Johnson will find themselves right at home in this bittersweet, quirky landscape, where everyday moments are transformed into quiet, absurd tragedies and unexpected comedies.
- Mood
- surreal
- nostalgic
- hazy
- bittersweet
- Tone
- wry
- whimsical
- melancholic
- gentle
- absurd
- Pace
- meandering
- Themes
- absurdity of modern life · countercultural disillusionment · fleeting connections · memory and loss · the myth of California
- The writing
- Deceptively simple and conversational, built on startling, idiosyncratic metaphors and poetic leaps of logic.
- The arc
- Moves from playful, surreal observations of everyday life into a deeper, lingering sense of wistful melancholy.
- Who it's for
- Readers who appreciate 1960s counterculture literature, surreal vignettes, and gentle, poetic absurdity that masks a profound sadness.
Content notes
- abortion
- suicide
- gun violence
- alcohol use
About the book
Overview: Three unforgettable Brautigan masterpieces reissued in a one-volume omnibus edition: Revenge of the Lawn, The Abortion, So the Wind Won't Blow It All Away
REVENGE OF THE LAWN: Originally published in 1971, these bizarre flashes of insight and humor cover everything from "A High Building in Singapore" to the "Perfect California Day." This is Brautigan's only collection of stories and includes "The Lost Chapters of TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA."
THE ABORTION: AN HISTORICAL ROMANCE 1966: A public library in California where none of the books have ever been published is full of romantic possibilities. But when the librarian and his girlfriend must travel to Tijuana, they have a series of strange encounters in Brautigan's 1971 novel.
SO THE WIND WON'T BLOW IT ALL AWAY: It is 1979, and a man is recalling the events of his twelfth summer, when he bought bullets for his gun instead of a hamburger. Written just before his death, and published in 1982, this novel foreshadowed Brautigan's suicide.
Genre: Anthology | Literature & Fiction
Description from Open Library.
Books like Revenge of the Lawn Stories 1962-1970
See why they match
Sombrero falloutRichard BrautiganA surreal and melancholic exploration of heartbreak filtered through the bizarre lens of a writer's imagination.
In Watermelon SugarBRAUTIGANA gentle, surreal drift through a utopian dreamscape that hides a quiet undercurrent of melancholy and violence.
The Hawkline MonsterRichard BrautiganA satirical collision of gothic dread and western grit set against an Oregon backdrop.
Long After MidnightRay BradburyA twilight journey through the strange, the nostalgic, and the deeply human, wrapped in lyrical prose.
The October CountryRay BradburyA poetic descent into the shadows of autumn, where everyday fears are transformed into beautiful, lingering nightmares.
Brief Interviews With Hideous MenDavid Foster WallaceA dizzying, darkly hilarious plunge into the neurotic, self-justifying minds of profoundly alienated people.