The Man in the Cardboard Mask

Stories by Alvin Greenberg

May 1, 1985 • 5.5 x 8.5 • 128 pages • 978-0-918273-02-4

In this collection of stories, people struggle with their souls—but aren’t always equipped for confrontation.

These six stories combine Alvin Greenberg’s fascination for language and ideas with a compelling concern for the neighbors, teachers, and grandparents of the everyday world. These people each come up against the unknown within their own souls, and they are not always equipped for the confrontation. The unemployed Jan who ponders the origin of annoying folk sayings, the humanist faced with responsibility for a lover’s suicide, the advertising executive who thinks his face becomes cardboard when he smiles: each must face the limits of self-knowledge, the terror of ignorance.

Reviews

 

“These are marvelously funny stories. Good enough to give stories a good name.” —Frederick Barthelme

“Whenever I see an Alvin Greenberg story I buy the magazine. His work is consistently experimental yet never dull. I recommend his work especially to anyone who loves short fiction.” —Max Apple