By turns hilarious and heartfelt, dark and illuminative, Ben Marcusâs Leaving the Sea is a ground breaking collection of stories from one of the single most vital, extraordinary, and unique writers of his generation.
In the heartfelt âI Can Say Many Nice Things,â a washed-up writer toying with infidelity leads a creative writing workshop on board a cruise ship. In the dystopian âRollingwood,â a divorced father struggles to take care of his ill infant, as his ex-wife and colleagues try to render him irrelevant. In âWatching Mysteries with My Mother,â a son meditates on his motherâs mortality, hoping to stave off her death for as long as he sits by her side. And in the title story, told in a single breathtaking sentence, we watch as the narratorâs marriage and his sanity unravel, drawing him to the brink of suicide. Surreal and tender, terrifying and life-affirming, Leaving the Sea is the work of an utterly unique writer at the height of his powers.
By turns hilarious and heartfelt, dark and illuminative, Ben Marcusâs Leaving the Sea is a ground breaking collection of stories from one of the single most vital, extraordinary, and unique writers of his generation.
In the heartfelt âI Can Say Many Nice Things,â a washed-up writer toying with infidelity leads a creative writing workshop on board a cruise ship. In the dystopian âRollingwood,â a divorced father struggles to take care of his ill infant, as his ex-wife and colleagues try to render him irrelevant. In âWatching Mysteries with My Mother,â a son meditates on his motherâs mortality, hoping to stave off her death for as long as he sits by her side. And in the title story, told in a single breathtaking sentence, we watch as the narratorâs marriage and his sanity unravel, drawing him to the brink of suicide. Surreal and tender, terrifying and life-affirming, Leaving the Sea is the work of an utterly unique writer at the height of his powers.