“My rampage through bizarro lit continues…
These read pretty well. If someone asked me where to start with bizarro, I might point them to the story “Hammer Wives.” I think it’s got pretty strong bizarro roots, but at the same time the setting and basic plot elements are familiar to anyone who reads horror or watches Scooby Doo. So while it’s very weird, there’s something to hold on to. “Red World” was pretty good too, and that would make a potentially great introduction to bizarro.
On the other hand, I don’t know that anything makes a great introduction to bizarro. It’s hard to explain, but the very thing that makes a good introduction to bizarro is a good introduction because it’s less…bizarro. So maybe the way to go is get crazy right off and see how you feel about it.
The other thing I’d recommend, and this probably won’t sit well with everyone, is that you read 3 bizarro books before you decide how you feel about the genre. I think it takes that long to get the feel. And although I say 3 whole books, a bizarro book generally takes a couple hours, max.
I say three books because that’s 3-6 hours, and we’re talking about a weird, very out-there genre. It’s not like I’m saying you have to read all of Moby Dick to know if you like Melville. It’s like I’m suggesting you have to at least know what the fuck the ocean is.”