Tunneling to the Center of the Earth audiobook

I have read two novels by Kevin Wilson and was just OK with Nothing to See Here (2019) (3 stars) and not at all OK with The Family Fang (2011) (1 star). I remember when reviewing The Family Fang that somebody on GR said that his short story collection Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, was much better, or at least that is what I recall. So I put it on my TBR list.What a pleasant surprise! 😊There were 12 stories in this collection and I did not start with the first one…for some reason I picked out ones farther into the book. In brief, some of the plot lines I thought were extremely clever….and they were accompanied by extremely engaging writing. In some of my reviews of other books, I have said that the premise was really clever but the book sucked…not so here. Well done, Kevin Wilson, well done. Very solid 4 stars.Here are the ones that I really liked (5 stars) and I’ll limit my synopsis to one or two sentences (not a long-winded review…).• Worst-Case Scenario: Man has a job in which he tells clients the many different things that could happen to them or to their family members or to their company, worst case scenario. (Which is probably not so good, you know?)• Grand Stand-In: Older female works at a job where she acts as if she is a grandmother to children who don’t remember their real grandmother is dead (but the parents want their kids to grow up having a grandmother who is ALIVE, and hence she stands in for their granny who has kicked the bucket). • The Museum of What-Not: A lonely young women works for a museum that has displays of “things that are ordinarily junk but not junk because someone, somewhere, made it more than that by collecting, hoarding, and preserving it” (e.g., mason jars of baby teeth, collection of worthless spoons, 573 labels of canned apricots). A very poignant love story of sorts. NOTE: I gave this one 5+++ stars. 😎• Go, fight, win: A lonely high school cheerleader who does not fit in befriends a 12 year old boy who is a misfit. Another poignant story. • The Shooting Man: A man has a girlfriend and really wants her to go with him to a carnival in which there is a show in which a man picks up a revolver and blows his brains out, and is able to repeat this act on subsequent nights. (How does he do it?!!! 😲 ) The man loses his girlfriend because she is so traumatized by watching it – that’s not the only thing he loses. 😐I gave 4 other stories (Blowing Up on the Spot; Birds in the House; Tunneling to the Center of the Earth; The Choir Director) 4 stars….so that’s pretty darn good in my book. It’s interesting to note that 'Blowing Up On the Spot' involved a mother and father of two boys who underwent spontaneous combustion (one reads about these things in the National Enquirer) so he must have a thing for people who catch on fire since he returned to that theme with his 2019 novel, Nothing to See Here. Reviews:https://www.apr.org/post/tunneling-ce...https://blackbird.vcu.edu/v9n1/nonfic...

“Don't you see? The things we once loved do not change, only our belief in them. . . You are left with the only things that any of us have in the end. The things we keep inside of ourselves, that grow out of us, that tell us who we are.”I read and really liked Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here (2019), about a woman who works as a nanny for two kids that burst into flames when they get upset. They recover, each time, but more importantly, the nanny, who is kind of lost in her early thirties, finds purpose in her lifeTunneling to the Center of the Earth was published ten years earlier, a collection of stories, and they have in common with the later novel all sorts of body horror and black humor and surrealism, though the stories are always grounded in humanity, in empathy.My favorite stories include the title story, about three stoner college grads with "useless" degrees (with respect to jobs) such as Gender Studies, Art History or Morse Code (?!) who (kinda) decide to dig to the center of the Earth. They are lost, the idea is funny (almost all of the frames for the story are weirdly hilarious), but the resolution (as it often is) is touching, as the three slackers go on with their lives, and turn to archaeology, landscaping, things related to digging. Bizarrely sweet!"Grand Stand-In" is about a widow working as "stand-in" grandma for several families. The kids don't know the difference; some families actually have grandmas but they are unlikable; some are far away. Touching, too, finally."Blowing Up on the Spot": A couple of boys struggle to survive after their parents spontaneously combusted. (A precursor to Nothing to See Here?)"The Museum of What-Not" is the story of lonely thirty-something woman who works in a museum with what she generally thinks of as junk. A much older doctor whose family donated some spoons there comes in regularly and then falls for her, and helps her in her work, reconceptualizing the work of curation. A kind of love story. “The Shooting Man” just might have been my favorite, as it made me cry with laughter: : A guy’s friend tells him about a show at the carnival he saw, where a man shoots himself in the face. This is bizarre and violent and disturbing, I know, but I thought from the guy’s perspective it reveals something about crazy American male culture (like wanting to see MMA and shark tank death matches and things like that). The guy’s girlfriend has NO interest whatsoever in seeing this, but he finally wears her down and predictably, she is disturbed by it. All the guys want to know how the guy does it. Of course she (like all of rational readers) wants nothing to do with any of this. As the man tries to repair the damage and get a signed ticket stub for the girl (clueless of him to think she would even want this), things turn a little sinister. Not so much touching as great social satire and you almost feel sorry for the guy.Imaginative, humorous premises throughout. Some of it I have to call horror because of the body horror and strangeness and magical realism/surrealism, so happy Halloween month.

| | blog | tumblr | ko-fi | |4 ½ starsA very Wilsonesque collection of stories: dysfunctional families, spontaneous human combustion, surreal scenarios, and plenty of eccentric characters. Each story in this collection held my attention, and while they share similarities, they also showcase Wilson's range: from lighthearted tales (such as “Grand Stand-In” and “Tunneling to the Center of the Earth”) to more bittersweet stories (such as “Birds in the House”) and even ones that I can best describe as heartbreaking (“Mortal Kombat”).Regardless of their tone, each story is permeated by surrealism. At times the surreal elements are overt (such as with the first story in this collection), while in other times they are more covert. Ordinary moments or exchanges are injected with a dose of the bizarre, and this weirdness was a delight to read. Wilson vividly renders his characters and their experiences (however unreal they were), and his mumblecore dialogues always rang true to life (even when the discussions veered in seemingly absurd territories).This was a wonderful collection of short stories. They were extremely amusing and always surprising. Each story had a certain focus, and didn't meander in other directions, seeming committed to expanding on specific feelings or ideas. My favourite ones were “Mortal Kombat” (as sad as it was), “Birds in the House”, and “The Museum of Whatnot”.Funny, original, and tender, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth is a marvellous collection of stories, one that I would thoroughly recommend it to readers who enjoyed other works by Wilson, such as Nothing to See Here.

Review Published on Blog: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...Wonderful, Weird, and Beautifully Hypnotic.There are very few times when short stories capture my attention. Often when reading a short story collection, I feel like I am “missing” something. That quintessential piece of the puzzle or the ending that completes the story. With “Tunneling to the Center of the Earth” however, that didn’t happen. Instead, I was left feeling mesmerized by the masterful stories created by Kevin Wilson, in much the same way that I was with “Nothing to See Here” the first novel that I read by him which I adored with my whole heart. This collection is bright, clever, entertaining, and extremely unique. My favorites include: “Grand Stand-In” (My favorite short story by far) - Endearing and Heartfelt! Here, a woman becomes a substitute grandmother for families in need. Whether it be because of loss, or illness, the families request a replacement grandmother, and presto! Bonds are formed, much more easily than you’d imagine with several different families as the “Grand Stand-In” is simply delightful. Kind, caring, quite funny, giving, and warm. Can I just say that I’d love to make a request?! (Pretty please with sugar on top?).“Go Fight Win” - Perfection, Pure and Simple! Penny is a High School Cheerleader who does her best to fit in at her mother’s request, though she personally hates being a cheerleader. Her spare time is spent building model cars, which is the only thing that brings her happiness until she meets her next-door neighbor, who shares the same hobby. Despite their age difference, a friendship is formed. Just call me enchanted.“Blowing up on the Spot” - A story of brothers, orphans, if you must know. Their parents spontaneously combusted on a train a few years prior. Their deaths cannot be explained. The eldest brother works in a factory day after day gathering scrabble tiles (the letter Q in case you’re wondering) in order to support his younger brother who is a very troubled, yet gifted swimmer. Devotion is the key here and it is a heartbreaker. “Birds in the House” - Oddly Wonderful and Captivating all at the same time. A story about family, sibling rivalry, and well, birds. Lots of birds: paper cranes to be exact. When an estate is at stake everything runs amok. Here, four brothers compete in a contest to create 250 paper cranes each, in order to determine who will be the winner of a once-grand estate. And for the short story that made me laugh while I was trying to wind down “Tunneling to the Center of the Earth” and the parents who questioned their son’s action with “Do you think it’s the marijuana that’s making you do this?” - all I can say is, that was something! Kevin Wilson’s collection is brilliant, clever, and oh so imaginative. Each story captured my attention in a different way. Furthermore, the narrators included here are nothing short of dazzling. While I preferred Kevin Wilson’s novel “Nothing to See Here” (simply because I loved the characters), I truly enjoyed this short story collection and highly recommend it. For those who enjoy audiobooks, I would grab it as it is absolutely phenomenal.I must thank my Goodreads friends Cheri and Debbie for recommending this to me. The two of you were right - I loved this and several of the stories did in fact make me laugh out loud. Thank you both!Thank you also to Kevin Wilson and all of the narrators who lent their voices to this incredible collection.Review published on Goodreads and excerpt on Insta.

After I read the first entry in this remarkable collection-----which, incidentally, concerns the moral and emotional conflicts of a professional rent-a-grandma------I put the book down. Only one story a night, Terry. Pace yourself, man. This is too good to read all at once.It really is. Wilson has a remarkable ability to get us into the heads of everyday people in surreal situations. A guy who works in a scrabble-piece factory, terrified that he will spontaneously combust, as his parents did. Half-Japanese rednecks in middle Tennessee whose late mother decreed in her will that inheritance of the plantation would be determined by an origami bird contest. A man who discovers the terrible truth behind a carnival act in which the performer appears to blow out his brains. A consultant who, for a fee, provides anxious families with computer-generated projections for potential household tragedies. No matter how facially absurd the protagonist’s circumstances, Wilson sucks us right in to an entirely believable universe. These stories are hysterically funny, often sad, and deeply humane. Do yourself a favor and read this book.One story at a time.

I loved Nothing to See Here and I love this collection of stories with some that precurse that novel. What do I love most? The imagination. The humor. Kevin Wilson feels like a cousin from another mother. I've never written stories like this, but he makes me want to.(Thanks, Cheri.)

1st half a lot stronger than the second half. Fave stories: grand stand-in & the museum of whatnot

I love Kevin Wilson's writing and this collection of short stories does an excellent job of showcasing his talent. Death as a subject is not an easy one to think about but Wilson broaches it with mysterious curiosity, an entertaining amount of darkness, and pure creativity. Great book!

An excellent story collection that brings to mind the strange & compelling work of Elizabeth McCracken. These stories run the gamut of peculiar professions and misplaced oddballs: a professional "grandma" who makes memories on demand, a Scrabble factory worker who fears spontaneous combustion, a freak show regular who takes a bullet to the head every night, a cheerless cheerleader, a curator of banal objects and a balding worst-case scenario expert, among others. Simple prose and straight forward narration set off the bizarre situations, making them almost feel normal. Though none of their situations could be called typical, the emotions, longings and fears of these characters are all too familiar. A quietly humorous and gently melancholic compilation.

After Kevin Wilson's most recent novel NOTHING TO SEE HERE worked its peculiar charms on me, I found myself thinking, oh my god, where did this Kevin Wilson person come from? And now I know. Here he is, shining forth in his first collection, published in 2009 and soon to be republished by Ecco in September 2020. Or maybe I should say, "bursting forth" or even "exploding forth," because there is a story here even in this first collection, a decade before Nothing to See Here, that has people spontaneously combusting in it. Unlike in Wilson's recent novel, the combusting people blow up without any warning flames flaming up beforehand. They just go boom, in the story “Blowing Up on the Spot." There are other body horrors in the other stories, and these are just as charming, and I really do mean "charming," because the explosive transformations that happen to Wilson's characters always seem a little on the light-hearted side even when they end in death. It's hard to say what I would have thought about these stories without coming to them back through time, via Nothing to See Here. I can't imagine it because the novel had a big impact on me. But as 'origin stories' of Wilson's proclivities, hangups, and obsessions, I loved these stories.

Tunneling to the Center of the Earth is a strange but thought-provoking set of short stories.Average rating: 3.75 stars“grand stand-in” - 4 stars A fascinating look into love and families.“blowing up on the spot” - 3.75 stars“The dead sister handbook: a guide sensitive boys” - 3.5 stars Interesting ‘found form’ work. “birds in the house” - 4 stars Interesting how it ends before what would have been the climax.“mortal combat” - 4.5 stars that hurts.“tunneling to the center of the earth - 3.5 stars I didn’t feel terribly invested in the outcome“the shooting man” - 3.75 morbid, but fun.“the choir director affair (the baby's teeth)” - 3.5 stars “go, fight win” - 3.5 stars Quiet even through the violence.“the museum of whatnot” - 3.75 stars Touching in a quiet way.“worst-case scenario” - 3.5 stars Sweet, in a pessimistic sort of way.

This is the book of stories I’ve been looking for—wild premises but still grounded in reality, full of funny moments not propped up by punchlines, and moving, heartfelt endings that try and almost always succeed in actually saying something honest about being human. The book is at its best when the ridiculous and the disturbing are given free reign. It only touches on sentimentality in a few short moments (as can be expected with love stories, as most of these are), but it’s totally bearable since the rest of the moments are so true and enjoyable and weird. Can’t wait to read more by Wilson.