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The Wall of America
Surreal and satiric, this collection of short fiction pays a mesmerizing visit to the shadowy zone that lies between present everyday life and a perilous near future that is frighteningly tangible.
In "The Wall of America," the Department of Homeland Security has put up a border wall between the U.S. and Canada, but the NEA has plans to turn it into the world’s largest art gallery. After the Rapture, working-class life for "A Family of the Post-Apocalypse" is not as different as one might imagine, despite the occasional plague of biker-gang locusts. Between addiction and art is "Ringtime," where a criminal is trapped in a recursive compulsion to visit other people's memories while he is forced to record his own for an eager audience. A Somali schoolgirl living in post-WWIII Minneapolis goes on a bloody crusade to rid her town of a familiar predator, one who might just be a monster, in "White Man."
Vivid, starkly imagined, and strikingly articulate, this disquieting compilation is a journey that skillfully straddles the line between absurdity and irony.
In "The Wall of America," the Department of Homeland Security has put up a border wall between the U.S. and Canada, but the NEA has plans to turn it into the world’s largest art gallery. After the Rapture, working-class life for "A Family of the Post-Apocalypse" is not as different as one might imagine, despite the occasional plague of biker-gang locusts. Between addiction and art is "Ringtime," where a criminal is trapped in a recursive compulsion to visit other people's memories while he is forced to record his own for an eager audience. A Somali schoolgirl living in post-WWIII Minneapolis goes on a bloody crusade to rid her town of a familiar predator, one who might just be a monster, in "White Man."
Vivid, starkly imagined, and strikingly articulate, this disquieting compilation is a journey that skillfully straddles the line between absurdity and irony.
245 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
About the author
Thomas M. Disch
386 books330 followersThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction writer and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book—previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book"—in 1999. He had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, a Rhysling Award, and two Seiun Awards, among others.
His writing includes substantial periodical work, such as regular book and theater reviews for The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Harper's, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and Entertainment Weekly.
As a fiction writer and a poet, Disch felt typecast by his science fiction roots. "I have a class theory of literature. I come from the wrong neighborhood to sell to The New Yorker. No matter how good I am as an artist, they always can smell where I come from".
Following an extended period of depression after the death in 2005 of his life-partner, Charles Naylor, Disch stopped writing almost entirely, except for poetry and blog entries, although he did produce two novellas. Disch fatally shot himself on July 4, 2008, in his Manhatten (NYC) apartment.
Naylor and Disch are buried alongside each other at Saint Johns Episcopal Church Columbarium, Dubuque, Iowa. His last book, The Word of God, which was written shortly before Naylor died, was published a few days before Disch's death.
His writing includes substantial periodical work, such as regular book and theater reviews for The Nation, The Weekly Standard, Harper's, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Times Literary Supplement, and Entertainment Weekly.
As a fiction writer and a poet, Disch felt typecast by his science fiction roots. "I have a class theory of literature. I come from the wrong neighborhood to sell to The New Yorker. No matter how good I am as an artist, they always can smell where I come from".
Following an extended period of depression after the death in 2005 of his life-partner, Charles Naylor, Disch stopped writing almost entirely, except for poetry and blog entries, although he did produce two novellas. Disch fatally shot himself on July 4, 2008, in his Manhatten (NYC) apartment.
Naylor and Disch are buried alongside each other at Saint Johns Episcopal Church Columbarium, Dubuque, Iowa. His last book, The Word of God, which was written shortly before Naylor died, was published a few days before Disch's death.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 23, 2017
Cynically sublime and succinct. Disch was a master of grammar and the possibilities inherent in a phrase.
A few are a little hokey, but that is to be expected from the author of The Brave Little Toaster.
And every GoodRead junkie who has ever tried to "win" a review copy would do well to acquaint themselves with The Man Who Read A Book (one of the shorter pieces in this collection) which skewers contemporary culture's obsession with recognition at the sake of cognition.
I first acquired this book near the beginnings of my time on this website and pointedly chose to not review it here. It is possible I did not finish reading all of the stories. As I am nearly done with it now, some five years after the point of purchase, most, if not all, of the stories therein are familiar to me. At the time I was still dubious as to the worth of keeping any sort of personal record in a database such as GoodReads but I am now pleased to know that my errant thoughts are logged in for future reference—as pompous as that may sound, there it is.
Recently someone I know saw me reading this on the short brick wall outside of our place of work. My mind was more focused on the time and the heat of the sun than my observer, so, when asked what I was reading, all I could do was display the front cover and hold my breath. Pretty sure the observer thought I was reading something related to the current US president's dismal foreign policy promises . . . Interesting to note that this In Real Life anecdote occurred during both of my readings of this, in 2017 and 2019. Also, I have personally reached such depths of mental oblivion so as to re-approach these stories with entirely fresh eyes . Such pleasures of memory loss await us all in time.
My aunt had the privilege of meeting Mr. Disch once, back in the late 70s / early 80s. She said he was nice, if a little peculiar. But who isn't?
A few are a little hokey, but that is to be expected from the author of The Brave Little Toaster.
And every GoodRead junkie who has ever tried to "win" a review copy would do well to acquaint themselves with The Man Who Read A Book (one of the shorter pieces in this collection) which skewers contemporary culture's obsession with recognition at the sake of cognition.
I first acquired this book near the beginnings of my time on this website and pointedly chose to not review it here. It is possible I did not finish reading all of the stories. As I am nearly done with it now, some five years after the point of purchase, most, if not all, of the stories therein are familiar to me. At the time I was still dubious as to the worth of keeping any sort of personal record in a database such as GoodReads but I am now pleased to know that my errant thoughts are logged in for future reference—as pompous as that may sound, there it is.
Recently someone I know saw me reading this on the short brick wall outside of our place of work. My mind was more focused on the time and the heat of the sun than my observer, so, when asked what I was reading, all I could do was display the front cover and hold my breath. Pretty sure the observer thought I was reading something related to the current US president's dismal foreign policy promises . . . Interesting to note that this In Real Life anecdote occurred during both of my readings of this, in 2017 and 2019. Also, I have personally reached such depths of mental oblivion so as to re-approach these stories with entirely fresh eyes . Such pleasures of memory loss await us all in time.
My aunt had the privilege of meeting Mr. Disch once, back in the late 70s / early 80s. She said he was nice, if a little peculiar. But who isn't?
February 10, 2012
If you like Phillip K. Dick, you'll love Thomas Disch. The ideas are just as weird, but the prose is more coherent. And funny! But also sad. It's all a rich tapestry.
To give you an idea of his range, I will just mention that Disch wrote both a book called 'The Genocides' as well as one called 'The Brave Little Toaster' (yes, Disney made a movie version you may vaguely remember). In between there was some (good) poetry and award winning literary criticism. Maybe even an opera--it's hard to keep track of everything, really.
This particular book is a posthumous collection of his late-in-life short stories. Titles include:
-'The White Man' (about vampires)
-'In Praise of Older Women' (depicting a conversation between Oedipus and Jocasta)
-'Painting Egglants' (which is not a metaphor or allegory. It is *literally* a compelling story about a man who paints paintings of eggplants. 'How is this possible?')
-The Man Who Read a Book (!)
-The First Annual Performance Art Festival at the Slaughter Rock Battlefield (I desperately want to talk about this one, but mentioning any details would give too much away.)
I would write more about Disch, but as usual when finishing a book, I've stayed up past my bedtime.
To give you an idea of his range, I will just mention that Disch wrote both a book called 'The Genocides' as well as one called 'The Brave Little Toaster' (yes, Disney made a movie version you may vaguely remember). In between there was some (good) poetry and award winning literary criticism. Maybe even an opera--it's hard to keep track of everything, really.
This particular book is a posthumous collection of his late-in-life short stories. Titles include:
-'The White Man' (about vampires)
-'In Praise of Older Women' (depicting a conversation between Oedipus and Jocasta)
-'Painting Egglants' (which is not a metaphor or allegory. It is *literally* a compelling story about a man who paints paintings of eggplants. 'How is this possible?')
-The Man Who Read a Book (!)
-The First Annual Performance Art Festival at the Slaughter Rock Battlefield (I desperately want to talk about this one, but mentioning any details would give too much away.)
I would write more about Disch, but as usual when finishing a book, I've stayed up past my bedtime.
September 30, 2021
I was unaware of the work of Thomas M. Disch until this anthology was included in a Humble Bundle offer and what a demanding and complex (even ocassionally uncomfortable) reading it has been. But it is also highly entertaining literature, even when nothing seems to be happening and the story is just a thinly veiled essay. Whether he is subverting the tropes of fantasy literature (be it vampires or post-apocallyptic worlds) or laughing at the emperor's new clothes of the world of contemporary art, Disch's prose is highly polished and cerebral, but nevertheless witty and charming. And those "positive" qualities more than make it up for the "uncomfortable" aspects of this stories: Disch doesn't seem to have much time for exemplary characters and even some of his more clear-cut "heroic" protagonists aren't particularly likeable or redeemable. And there's no reason why they should be, of course. The worldview that the overall collection presents isn't pretty or agreeable, but the literary world would be far less interesting without daring works such as The Wall of America.
July 29, 2010
I was unaware of Tom Disch before ReaderCon 2010, when Konrad Walewski introduced me to his works.
Unaware, but apparently nobody is unfamiliar. It's hard to believe this rebellious, gun-toting, gay-liberating, tattooed outlaw is the same guy who wrote The Brave Little Toaster and the original treatment for The Lion King.
This collection of his work shows his diversity, which is another way of saying it's uneven. Through the first three or four stories I wondered, "What's the big deal about this guy?" But as I stuck with it, I'm glad I did. "Canned Goods" was essentially a one-liner joke, but a funny one and it encouraged me to keep reading. "Bunny Steiner," "Voices of the Kill," "In Xanadu" and others were wildly entertaining.
He pushed a couple of my "fail" buttons, though: "Torah! Torah! Torah!" got much of the book of Genesis factually wrong, conflating the story of Abraham and Sarah with that of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. (Disch went to Catholic school. No excuses!) And some of his stories, "Bunny Steiner," "Man Who Read a Book" and "Slaughter Rock," were riffs on the business of being a writer or a creative artist based in New York -- which always struck me as lazy and self-indulgent material.
But overall, I'm very much impressed by this writer who was as once prolific and silenced too soon. But Disch would've been comfortable with that contradiction. It certainly wasn't his most jarring.
Unaware, but apparently nobody is unfamiliar. It's hard to believe this rebellious, gun-toting, gay-liberating, tattooed outlaw is the same guy who wrote The Brave Little Toaster and the original treatment for The Lion King.
This collection of his work shows his diversity, which is another way of saying it's uneven. Through the first three or four stories I wondered, "What's the big deal about this guy?" But as I stuck with it, I'm glad I did. "Canned Goods" was essentially a one-liner joke, but a funny one and it encouraged me to keep reading. "Bunny Steiner," "Voices of the Kill," "In Xanadu" and others were wildly entertaining.
He pushed a couple of my "fail" buttons, though: "Torah! Torah! Torah!" got much of the book of Genesis factually wrong, conflating the story of Abraham and Sarah with that of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. (Disch went to Catholic school. No excuses!) And some of his stories, "Bunny Steiner," "Man Who Read a Book" and "Slaughter Rock," were riffs on the business of being a writer or a creative artist based in New York -- which always struck me as lazy and self-indulgent material.
But overall, I'm very much impressed by this writer who was as once prolific and silenced too soon. But Disch would've been comfortable with that contradiction. It certainly wasn't his most jarring.
October 27, 2009
As with most short story collections, some of the stories are so-so and some are truly wonderful. My favorite was 'The Man Who Read a Book.' I laughed through the entire thing.
October 18, 2011
A strong collection. Disch's interest in the visual arts comes through in a number of these short stories, including the title story. In one story a bus load of art critics gets slaughtered. Knowing that he killed himself a few years ago might make one pass over the humor found in many of these stories, but it is a key ingredient. There is a very palpable sense of sadness and loneliness present behind the scenes though.
October 7, 2008
"There is likely no better introduction to the vastness of his talent than his posthumously-released short story collection The Wall of America. The collection truly captures his range as a writer."
Read the full review here.
Read the full review here.
July 5, 2010
This is a wonderfully fine book of short stories. Disch was a master of the form, and some of these pieces are wodnerful, as well as unexpectedly humorous at times.
October 4, 2017
Disch wrote "The Brave Little Toaster," before his writing
got darker. These stories are like PCP-laced pop tarts.
got darker. These stories are like PCP-laced pop tarts.
July 30, 2024
I've really enjoyed two of Disch's works, this and Camp Concentration, while not being able to get into his apparently very well-regarded 334. I appreciate Disch's sensibility, which I would characterize as melancholy, twisted and depressive/pessimistic, yet also contemplative and resilient. He definitely taps into some very effective psychological horror at times as well. The standout stories to me were:
There's a somewhat persistent theme in these best stories of metamorphosis and leaving one's past self behind. They are therefore laced with both existential fright and an understated catharsis. My three favorites would probably be "Wall of America," "Voices of the Kill," and "Bunny Steiner."
If you like short stories or strange fiction you should definitely check this out. It reminds me somewhat of Adam Haslett's imo underrated You Are Not a Stranger Here, which is one of my all-time favorite short story collections. Disch is more contemplative and melancholy than Haslett, altogether heavier I'd say. But really good stuff all the same. In other words, I'll *not* be selling this one back to my local bookshop, which is about the highest praise I give these days.
Not Bad Reviews
"A Knight at the Opera" -- an older woman gets exactly what she needs (but not necessarily what she wants) after meeting a mysterious stranger at the opera.
"Nights in the Gardens" -- a sweet old man in a retirement home turns out, along with his caretaker, to be not what he seems.
"Painting Eggplants" -- a man gets inspired to paint one thing and one thing only.
"The Abduction of Bunny Steiner" -- a hard-luck novelist sells out and gets an unexpected reward (probably the most heartwarming of the stories)
"The First Annual Performance Art Festival at Slaughter Rock Battlefield" -- an admittedly on-the-nose but nevertheless fun swipe at professional critics
"The Owl and the Pussycat" -- a strange, then touching, then sinister portrayal of child abuse
"Voices of the Kill" -- a man quite completely communes with nature
"Wall of America" -- a tale of pursuing one's dreams and passions in the midst of dystopia
There's a somewhat persistent theme in these best stories of metamorphosis and leaving one's past self behind. They are therefore laced with both existential fright and an understated catharsis. My three favorites would probably be "Wall of America," "Voices of the Kill," and "Bunny Steiner."
If you like short stories or strange fiction you should definitely check this out. It reminds me somewhat of Adam Haslett's imo underrated You Are Not a Stranger Here, which is one of my all-time favorite short story collections. Disch is more contemplative and melancholy than Haslett, altogether heavier I'd say. But really good stuff all the same. In other words, I'll *not* be selling this one back to my local bookshop, which is about the highest praise I give these days.
Not Bad Reviews
March 17, 2021
This is a collection of short stories by the late Thomas M. Disch, an author best known for his Camp Concentration, which I haven't read. I really thought this was a kinda of ironic take of current events in novel form, not really expecting what was there.
Which is a very irregular collection of short stories, as said above. There are some of them that are an ironic take on myths, like the Apocalypse, Arabian Nights or the Bible, and some others that are somehow related to the world of art, specially art that has been paid by the state. The former are kinda nice, although a bit disquieting. The later... well, it's a bit like the joke, I guess. You had to be there.
The one that gives the book a title, "The Wall of America", is about... I really have no idea. There is another about a guy that paints eggplants, and sells them. And another about a collector, and creator, of memories. Many of them don't really finish. They just end.
All in all, I can see glimpses of an immense talent, but also of someone that has a bone to pick and will not leave it. So three stars, with possibly two and a half being a fairer assessment.
Which is a very irregular collection of short stories, as said above. There are some of them that are an ironic take on myths, like the Apocalypse, Arabian Nights or the Bible, and some others that are somehow related to the world of art, specially art that has been paid by the state. The former are kinda nice, although a bit disquieting. The later... well, it's a bit like the joke, I guess. You had to be there.
The one that gives the book a title, "The Wall of America", is about... I really have no idea. There is another about a guy that paints eggplants, and sells them. And another about a collector, and creator, of memories. Many of them don't really finish. They just end.
All in all, I can see glimpses of an immense talent, but also of someone that has a bone to pick and will not leave it. So three stars, with possibly two and a half being a fairer assessment.
June 17, 2024
Disch could be great at times, but often crotchety. Among his crotchets seems to have been government funding of the arts, which considering the parlous state of NEA funding by the publication date of the most recent stories in this posthumous collection (2004), let alone its present, greater decrepitude, has aged quite poorly.
Examples of excellent stories worth repeat readings are "Ringtime," "Canned Goods," and "Three Chronicles of Xglotl and Rwang". Unfortunately, not all the stories live up to those high standards.
Given the high regard in which he is held by Samuel R. Delany, I will likely read more by Disch, to find the publications that better represent him at his best.
Examples of excellent stories worth repeat readings are "Ringtime," "Canned Goods," and "Three Chronicles of Xglotl and Rwang". Unfortunately, not all the stories live up to those high standards.
Given the high regard in which he is held by Samuel R. Delany, I will likely read more by Disch, to find the publications that better represent him at his best.
May 8, 2021
Disch's work has not aged well. I made it through 12 of the stories in this collection before stalling out the first time, and I've flicked through the same 12 again to work out why, only to realise I was reading out of a sense of duty, and that I hate the stories.
There are a couple of interesting reads, some clever aspects to the stories. But there is so much bigotry that I just can't keep going. And there are no nice people. Rarely any redeemable characters, or even pleasant behaviour. The best of the lot included a serial killer and coerced criminal behaviour.
There are a couple of interesting reads, some clever aspects to the stories. But there is so much bigotry that I just can't keep going. And there are no nice people. Rarely any redeemable characters, or even pleasant behaviour. The best of the lot included a serial killer and coerced criminal behaviour.
September 15, 2023
After reading several of Disch's books over the years, I've come to realize I just do not like his work. Apart from the Fun With Your New Head collection and The M.D., I haven't really enjoyed anything of his. It's a shame because I want to like him, and it's not a case of his work being dreadful, but it's simply unsuccessful in holding my interest or compelling me at all. I'm just not a fan of fiction for fiction writers type of stuff.
November 28, 2024
*3.5 stars*. Weird and interesting speculative anthology. Lots of dark humor and intriguing stories. I’m glad I read it and I think it needs to be reread-lots of layers in these stories.
“Surreal and satiric, this collection of short fiction pays a mesmerizing visit to the shadowy zone that lies between present everyday life and a perilous near future that is frighteningly tangible.” (From the book blurb).
“Surreal and satiric, this collection of short fiction pays a mesmerizing visit to the shadowy zone that lies between present everyday life and a perilous near future that is frighteningly tangible.” (From the book blurb).
December 9, 2024
It's understandable how, with this book being published at the same time of the ascension of the Twilight franchise, the first short story was about 'real' teen vampires but his increasing flirting with xenophobia or plain racism (Lovecraft-style) and, afterwards, involuntary but, even so, quite clearly, extrapolating what would have become the main focus for the election and, then, reelection of Trump, in the short story homonymous with the collection's title that by the way also have quite a Brokeback Mountain-type of a subtext, anyway, to know through Disch what would become so proeminent in a couple of decades is more than simply disturbing like it wasn't just another fantastical, intentionally exagerated horror story, to say the least.
Other noteworthy short stories are, for example, one that looks like Maurice Sendak for grown ups that were raised in dysfunctional families, yet other brings me to mind Baudrillard's The Conspiracy of Art and the latter's commentary on Andy Warhol, another one is about virtual reality but with an emphasis on what we call now as E-girls (Vanilla Sky-style (which is a american remake of an spanish SF movie called in its turn Abra Los Ojos)), for me The Man Who Read a Book is a short story most obviously intended for everyone like any invasive ad can be (there's some vague, witty remarks there on Stephen King and Bret Easton Ellis), the most recurring point of the author being about his disillusion with the literary industry and art as a whole, culture in America being nothing but pastiche that can be easily turned into plain plagiarism and the main concerns are subsidies and legal loopholes, pseudo-subversion and pseudo-transgression both, finally, not being challenging enough as true alternatives for expression.
Umberto Eco and Luther Blisset usually talk a lot about exactly this same topic and this very same hopeless cultural limitations as if the political and social ones weren't enough.
Other noteworthy short stories are, for example, one that looks like Maurice Sendak for grown ups that were raised in dysfunctional families, yet other brings me to mind Baudrillard's The Conspiracy of Art and the latter's commentary on Andy Warhol, another one is about virtual reality but with an emphasis on what we call now as E-girls (Vanilla Sky-style (which is a american remake of an spanish SF movie called in its turn Abra Los Ojos)), for me The Man Who Read a Book is a short story most obviously intended for everyone like any invasive ad can be (there's some vague, witty remarks there on Stephen King and Bret Easton Ellis), the most recurring point of the author being about his disillusion with the literary industry and art as a whole, culture in America being nothing but pastiche that can be easily turned into plain plagiarism and the main concerns are subsidies and legal loopholes, pseudo-subversion and pseudo-transgression both, finally, not being challenging enough as true alternatives for expression.
Umberto Eco and Luther Blisset usually talk a lot about exactly this same topic and this very same hopeless cultural limitations as if the political and social ones weren't enough.
July 6, 2021
Some of the stories here are amusing, some less so. Not Disch's best.
November 12, 2022
Interesting collection. Disch had range, and while not all of these work for me, they might for you.
July 18, 2026
There were some interesting bits, but it just didn’t captivate me all that much.
Want to Read
May 5, 2008Ordered from Powell's Books.
***
Thomas Disch committed suicide on July 4: http://locusmag.com/2008/Disch_Obit.html
***
Thomas Disch committed suicide on July 4: http://locusmag.com/2008/Disch_Obit.html
December 3, 2008
Thomas M. Disch is now my homeboy.
April 10, 2018
What an unusual little story. I don't want to give too much away, but don't be fooled by the "I'm just a nice little stuffed animals" story. Stick around there's more.
February 5, 2019
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