Lost Americana: The End of the American Dream

by Scott Cravens, John Wenzel (photographer)

As a once great culture flounders, Lost The End of the American Dream views, through the fictional lens of a quagmire of existential dread, crime, terrorism, poverty, the darkness of narcissism, and the spiritual delusion of a corrupted Christianity and perverted religiosity, navigating a landscape of Absurdism at its zeniths and Nihilism at its nadirs, American's search for purpose and meaning. Cravens' collection of sixteen vignettes views a stumbling culture's path through suicide, abuse, neglect, escapism, infidelity, perversity, and existentialism. A prediction of the future? Social commentary? Or what has already come to pass? Whether its reader is American or World Citizen, this collection will leave one questioning the American way and its path forward.

128 pages, Paperback

Published October 26, 2023

Reviews

[Kyle Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

16 short stories in a debut collection by Cravens. The pacing of each short story, whether 2 pages or 10 pages, is pristine. All of them are generally "dark" in theme, even when the topic or setting appears to be lighter at first, so you do plenty of grimacing and grinning along the way. I tried to read only 1-2 per day to really ponder them, and once finished I have almost total recall of the stories which is a good sign and a bit rare when compared to other short story collections. Lost Americana is not for the faint of heart, but would be a worthwhile read for anyone ready to look into the eyes of broken humanity.

[Brianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking with a splash of dark humor. Definitely worth checking out.

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant little collection of short stories. Cravens reminds me a lot of Vonnegut. Brazen, crude, thoughtful, humorous, surprising, and at times, sad. The end of the American Dream is a fitting subtitle. I haven’t quite lost my own belief in that, though I do question the morality of the so-called American Dream. But you can hear the disillusionment in these pages. And for that reason, it is masterfully written.

[Jake Garner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid stuff. A nice collection of stories that make you think. What do they make you think about? Well, read it and figure that out for yourself I guess (I’m not gonna spoil anything).


I don’t know how to write reviews, but read this book.