Fantastic Fictions

by Sam Pink

Fantastic Fictions is a 2023 Sam Pink book, a cohesive statement of intent sick with a generous spirit, juiced of spontaneity and crackling, kindling nerve connections by the most industrious and recognizable stalwart there is, a standard bearer of household names, a DIY icon whose signature has smeared into the most splendidly surprising shapes, whose wheelhouse is the stoic, axiomatic narrative, humanistic and sobering, anarchically funny, a ballast against the terrifying and crushing forces of life you can’t brace against. Pink is pure offense, inflicting the modern world in toto with his probing, agile sentences which are simultaneously dense with inference and infinitely memeable, iconic, punchy and permutable like tattoos or anthems or handguns. Sam Pink is an American original, a rough trader, increasingly a man without a country, a firebrand lodestar and this book wastes no words not having anything to prove. In a dozen stories, Sam Pink spills ink for violent headwinds always incoming, for oases of calm, and everything in between, all the interstices of your day. A book that makes it easier, and other trite things I could write. From an indomitable titan whose first loves are artisanal. A wrecking ball, a moment of truth equal to the circumstances, out of step but never out of style. Your war machine is ready.

Genres: Short Stories, The United States Of America

114 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2023

About the author

Sam Pink is the author of The No Hellos Diet, Hurt Others, I Am Going to Clone Myself Then Kill the Clone and Eat It, Frowns Need Friends Too, and the cult hit Person. His writing has been published widely in print and on the internet, and also in other languages. He lives in Chicago, where he plays in the band Depressed Woman.

Reviews

[Claire Hopple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’d read several of these stories online or in previous books of his. But he’s still Sam Pink. One of the greatest writers of our generation. Ain’t nobody gonna take that away from him.

[Kyle Seibel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe Sam Pink to be a unique contributor to American letters and feel lucky to be alive to read his words. This collection, at 114 pages, contains multitudes upon multitudes. More than anything, what sets his work apart from imitators, is his access and fluency with real wisdom. These stories are an excellent example of that singular genius.

[Ron F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding collection of short stories! Every single one. powerful, moving and empathetic. Sam is something else.

[John Duran · Rating 5 out of 5]

been reading Sam Pink for nearly a decade and never once considered he might've came from a family. but in the opening story we get a revelatory bomb dropped: Sam Pink's got a brother. and from thereon with each story we are gifted small revelations about both the guy we love and the world we sometimes feel at odds with. but whenever I read Sam Pink I end up feeling more connected to humanity as a whole. there's infinite beauty and meaning in what otherwise could be experienced as mundane interactions with friends, coworkers, strangers at the post office. It's just a matter of leaving yourself open to enjoying those moments, and Sam's work often feels like the instruction manual to do just that. it's therapeutic. it's enlightening. it's flat-out fun as hell.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Pink is one of the main reasons I believe in literary magic

[Maxx McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again shows that Sam Pink is a master at the craft.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Pink is the GOAT

[Nick Schotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Pink is just a guy, as he points out in one of the stories in this great book. But that's what's great about his writing. He makes mundane things feel interesting. He turns interactions into fun side quests of thoughts. He reminds you that being human is such a weird experience that we all take for granted. Almost everyone I know used to imagine a little boy or animal running along beside the car when you looked out the window on road trips as a kid. Sam turns every life experience into something similar, following tangential thoughts to different possible outcomes in his head, while in actuality, the outcome is mundane. His writing makes me feel like I'm not alone in the weird thoughts I have throughout the day. Makes me feel like maybe I'm not so abnormal after all, and part of life is experiencing all the confusing emotions that don't necessarily belong in certain situations. I'm sure this review doesn't make a ton of sense, but I'm happy in knowing that it doesn't have to. And I think you'll understand that once you've read some of his work

[Matthew Meade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam pink is what would happen if Stiffler, the guy from American Pie, the one who popularized the term MILF, got really into Japanese poetry and started selling his paintings online. He’s what would have happened if Mitch Hedberg had lived long enough for us to realize he was a philosopher and a prophet. Pink does the same kinds of things Harmony Korine used to do, shocking us with his verisimilitude, presenting us with the smelly reality of things rather than a polished simulacrum. It’s disarming. It’s earnest. You can see him using his stories to prod and poke at the fabric of reality. “How does this work?” He seems to be asking us. “Why do we act like this?” He wants to know. But how are we supposed to know? We are just some fucking guy.

I wish there were more books like this. I am glad there aren't more books like this.

[Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sam Pink writes my favorite "slice of life" fiction. The way he makes his characters interact brings out the type of honesty, quiet dignity, wisdom, upliftedness, and introspection that only a few of modern authors are able to convey. I wish I had a ton of copies of his books to give out to everyone I know and care about and tell them: "Read this when you need cheering up". Favorites: Dragonfly, Rik The Villain, Command and Control, and Juliana.

[Eric Algeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you want me to say, huh? That it was good? Of course it was good. So go read it all in one night and stay up past your bedtime only to put it on your bookshelf for a few years until you fantasize about picking up and leaving your shitty apartment in the same shitty place you live with the same shitty people, just to find this book, re-read it, and go sprinting out the door. 10/10.

[Jeff J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always tempting to try and emulate Pink after reading his books. Excellent collection, particularly enjoyed “Yellow Forklift” and “The Action”, and “Command and Control” has lived in my head rent free much like the German roaches. Understated and solid and real in the best ways.

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

every story is good and they contain these beautiful moments of quiet dignity and respect for human beings. really a delight

[Jonathan Lee B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Fictions is catching donut holes from the air with your teeth.

[Danny Turek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes you wanna stand up and cheer!

[ddr ☃ · Rating 5 out of 5]

bleach them cockroaches, German cockroaches. after this day, there would be another.

[Holland Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply fantastic. Sam has a unique, very American voice and I highly recommend forking over the $ to dip into his catalog.

[David Catney · Rating 5 out of 5]

none of the pages fell out

[Sam Hicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peerless.

[AutomaticSlim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just some fuckin stud doin what some fuckin stud do

You buy your books straight from the fuckin stud. He signs em real big like with what looks like a paint pen. Tapes em up nice and mails em. Then you read em. So what. When you're done you toss em on a stack with all the other books he's taped and mailed and signed, real big like with the paint pens. Sometimes the pen is red. Sometimes it's blue. This one was like a dirty forest green. So what.

Just some fuckin stud doin what some fuckin stud do