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Everything Abridged: Stories
An electrifying and wholly original collection of satirical stories that create a bitingly funny portrait of American racism, capitalism, and politicsFramed as a reference work of humorous “entries” that offer trenchant social commentary, Everything Abridged presages a dark vision of the near future but tells jokes in the face of An intelligence agency operative uncovers a conspiracy to generate conspiracies and realizes his participation in the scheme. A Caribbean monarch meets four decades of American presidents and adjusts his country’s foreign policy accordingly. Experiment participants are asked to bring back a gun as quickly as possible. A copywriter on a space colony advertises a weapon with the potential to destroy his home during an intergalactic war. These and other linked stories, many of which feature a speculative bent—about being Black in America, law enforcement practices in an android society, Olympic speed walking, consumerism, nuclear war, and more—are interspersed with hilarious, one-line definitions for words ranging from abolition to zygote, creating a sharply humorous portrait of American inequality. With his singular wit, sharp prose, and shrewd observations, Dennard Dayle captures the struggles his characters face to keep hold of their sanity in a society collapsing into chaos and absurdity.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published April 26, 2022
15 people are currently reading
3312 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
April 16, 2022
The format/structure of this book was new to me, I enjoyed it! The definitions are also useful... I can see them being needed for a reader in 10 years not familiar with the present world. I especially appreciated the chapters being short - made it easy to pick up when I didn't have hours for a single session with a book. This was something new for me, I loved it!
December 6, 2021
An insightful and hilarious collection of stories and one-liners
August 20, 2023
I am having to adjust my rating to reflect the inconsistency of the publisher and their complete lack of response to several inquiries concerning their inconsistency. They are what they are, buyer beware, and the new rating reflects what the publisher is, though it would be lower if I could do it.
Everything Abridged: Stories from Dennard Dayle is an initially startling but ultimately satisfying trek through our unusual society, by way of alternative and speculative realities. Oh yeah, and some definitional one-liners.
My opening (now second) paragraph is a bit misleading. I mention the definitions, the dictionary aspect of the book, as almost a second thought. That may well have been the intention because it allows the power of some of those definitions to sink in without our being fully aware. Don't get me wrong, some of them did not work for me, but that is the nature of a long list of short items. But many of the ones that did work also gave me something to think about, often from a new perspective.
The stories are sometimes humorous, sometimes head-scratching, but each one works once you invest in the premise. These really are stories that can be enjoyed as short works of fiction as well as thought about as social commentary. It is in that second aspect that I think the format of the dictionary works particularly well. Whether any of the entries around each short story are intended to be explicit commentary on it, readers, or at least this one, are compelled to try to make connections. Through that act we are indeed thinking about what each story as well as the definitions mean. Put more bluntly, we are compelled to think, and active reading always leaves a more lasting impression.
While I might hesitate to recommend this to some friends who seem to hate anything even remotely outside the norm I would enthusiastically recommend this to almost everyone else. The stories are good as stories and the structure of the book serves, I think, to make the experience more active.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Everything Abridged: Stories from Dennard Dayle is an initially startling but ultimately satisfying trek through our unusual society, by way of alternative and speculative realities. Oh yeah, and some definitional one-liners.
My opening (now second) paragraph is a bit misleading. I mention the definitions, the dictionary aspect of the book, as almost a second thought. That may well have been the intention because it allows the power of some of those definitions to sink in without our being fully aware. Don't get me wrong, some of them did not work for me, but that is the nature of a long list of short items. But many of the ones that did work also gave me something to think about, often from a new perspective.
The stories are sometimes humorous, sometimes head-scratching, but each one works once you invest in the premise. These really are stories that can be enjoyed as short works of fiction as well as thought about as social commentary. It is in that second aspect that I think the format of the dictionary works particularly well. Whether any of the entries around each short story are intended to be explicit commentary on it, readers, or at least this one, are compelled to try to make connections. Through that act we are indeed thinking about what each story as well as the definitions mean. Put more bluntly, we are compelled to think, and active reading always leaves a more lasting impression.
While I might hesitate to recommend this to some friends who seem to hate anything even remotely outside the norm I would enthusiastically recommend this to almost everyone else. The stories are good as stories and the structure of the book serves, I think, to make the experience more active.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
April 25, 2022
Everything Abridged: A mordant series of short stories interspersed with rat-a-tat punchlines loaded into the book's conceit, often formalistically playful and thoroughly enjoyable.
April 30, 2023
This is my new favorite book to recommend with the disclaimer "hear me out". It's a comedic dictionary sprinkled with short stories and includes a pit stop in an epic dystopian novella.
The novella, Post-Atomic Stress, definitely stands on its own, but exiting it after 142 pages into a bunch of jokes about Princeton University was amazing.
I'm a big fan of sci-fi meets social commentary. I think anyone who enjoys the TV show Black Mirror will love this book.
The novella, Post-Atomic Stress, definitely stands on its own, but exiting it after 142 pages into a bunch of jokes about Princeton University was amazing.
I'm a big fan of sci-fi meets social commentary. I think anyone who enjoys the TV show Black Mirror will love this book.
July 1, 2022
Equal parts earnest and meta, prescient and observant, and always grinning, Everything Abridged is a bases-clearing home run of a debut for Dennard Dayle. The individual definitions which make up a sort of flavortext between short stories are reliably witty and fresh, and the stories themselves are all of a piece, merging speculative fiction and ultramodern commentary in a way that manages to be loose and thought provoking.
The influences of Joseph Heller and Jason Pargin are clear, but it takes real skill to write satire that never feels preachy or obvious. Many is the book that thinks itself pointed when it could not be more dull. Never the case here. Dayle’s voice as a writer is crystal clear and totally unique, and I can’t wait to read what he comes out with in the future.
Highly recommend.
The influences of Joseph Heller and Jason Pargin are clear, but it takes real skill to write satire that never feels preachy or obvious. Many is the book that thinks itself pointed when it could not be more dull. Never the case here. Dayle’s voice as a writer is crystal clear and totally unique, and I can’t wait to read what he comes out with in the future.
Highly recommend.
July 19, 2022
I ordered this after reading the author’s article on LitHub about books to make readers laugh insanely at the absurdity of the world. That list was a great gift that keeps on giving and set a high bar for this collection. It cleared it easily. This was exhausting satire in the very best sense. Late in the book, Dayle describes it as “a short story collection meets a modern Devil’s Dictionary.” That covers it more than adequately. There’s laughter through the pain in every line. “The vast array of mediocre outcomes robbed adult life of its romance.” Ouch! And also, yes, ha-ha, that’s it isn’t it?
December 8, 2022
A fun and inventive reading experience that brings to mind something along the lines of the old Daily Show mock textbook America: The Book. The author seems to be having a great time teasing narratives out of such disparate forms as memos and bank statements, with a few more straightforward short stories here and there. Full of asides that reward the reader for being a big old nerd.
August 28, 2022
But for a little laughless lull in the slightly saggy center, this book kept my frown from forming and my brow from furrowing.
April 24, 2022
Rare to find something that captures a moment in time like this one.
June 13, 2023
A collection of short stories I like, with a creative twist.
Any story collection will have some stories a reader prefers over others. This is a feature, not a bug. So while you may not like the stories I do, you'll prefer your own.
The creative twist comes from the dictionary entries Dayle writes for a bunch of giggles throughout the book. The stories serve as entries, coming alphabetically.
The longest story is a futuristic hacker dating a sexy Judge Dredd analogue, which is both a criticism of capitalism and hilarious.
The shortest story is told exclusively through debit card purchases, reminding of this comic (https://xkcd.com/596/) that tells a story through GPS locations. The story in the book is much more in depth and tells a story that made me a little sad.
One story is told through email correspondence for comic book reviews, this was my least-favorite story by a long way and I have a feeling most readers will absolutely love it. If you do, let me know, the Contact button is at the top.
Highly recommend.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Any story collection will have some stories a reader prefers over others. This is a feature, not a bug. So while you may not like the stories I do, you'll prefer your own.
The creative twist comes from the dictionary entries Dayle writes for a bunch of giggles throughout the book. The stories serve as entries, coming alphabetically.
The longest story is a futuristic hacker dating a sexy Judge Dredd analogue, which is both a criticism of capitalism and hilarious.
The shortest story is told exclusively through debit card purchases, reminding of this comic (https://xkcd.com/596/) that tells a story through GPS locations. The story in the book is much more in depth and tells a story that made me a little sad.
One story is told through email correspondence for comic book reviews, this was my least-favorite story by a long way and I have a feeling most readers will absolutely love it. If you do, let me know, the Contact button is at the top.
Highly recommend.
**I received an advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 20, 2022
I thought the first three stories were great and then the book just nosedived. The middle section (I say "middle" but the dive started at letter C) was so rough going that I almost walked away. They just tried too hard to be funny and came off as annoying and schticky, like I could almost hear a laugh track or see an applause! light flashing. Then, a miracle! Letter P finds the novella, which initiates the second half of the book. From there on out the book got really strong, even the Devil's Dictionary passages got stronger. From the novella onwards, I found the writing funny, smart, cutting, and gutsy. My theory on short story collections proves out again: any collection longer than 250 pages spits in the face of the gods. The dream physics start to break down, the space ship comes apart in reentry. To my knowledge, there are very, very few exceptions (John Keene's Counternarratives and Ottessa's Homesick come to mind). For me, if this was 250 pages rather than 350, it's an all killer-no filler type of deal. Still, good stuff.
August 20, 2023
I absolutely loved this book.
It is one of the tiny number of books that I hoped to forget about, and reread in a few years, so that I can experience it again.
This book is hard to describe because of the clever way that it is organized. It’s arguably two books. One is a collection of brilliant short stories. The other is 50 pages or so of one-paragraph entries written in the style of a reference book. Some of these reference entries are so thoughtful and biting and insightful that they are worth savoring before going to the next one.
As a lover of science fiction short stories, I would classify the stories here as near future stories about how technology could be used by governments that are often naughty.
What I want to get across the most in this review is how spectacular the writing is overall. Every one of the stories grabbed me within the first page, and made me care about the characters . With the exception of one story, I found myself wishing that each of them would turn into an entire novel.
I hope the author will consider doing exactly that.
It is one of the tiny number of books that I hoped to forget about, and reread in a few years, so that I can experience it again.
This book is hard to describe because of the clever way that it is organized. It’s arguably two books. One is a collection of brilliant short stories. The other is 50 pages or so of one-paragraph entries written in the style of a reference book. Some of these reference entries are so thoughtful and biting and insightful that they are worth savoring before going to the next one.
As a lover of science fiction short stories, I would classify the stories here as near future stories about how technology could be used by governments that are often naughty.
What I want to get across the most in this review is how spectacular the writing is overall. Every one of the stories grabbed me within the first page, and made me care about the characters . With the exception of one story, I found myself wishing that each of them would turn into an entire novel.
I hope the author will consider doing exactly that.
August 17, 2023
How did you even write this, Dennard Dayle? How does someone even think these thoughts? If you're into writing that is simultaneously funny and bleak, this is a book for you. My reaction after reading a lot of the short stories was as follows: Oh. OH.
On that note, this book took me a little longer to work through than I expected, considering its length. I found myself having to pause and think pretty often, so I wouldn't classify this as an easy, breezy type of read. The social commentary is incredibly witty and thought-provoking.
My personal favorite stories were Apex Competitor, Question?, and Recent Activity. I really loved the definitions in this book as well. Quite a few of them were laugh-out-loud funny/poignant for me, and I will be stealing some of those lines to use in casual conversation.
On that note, this book took me a little longer to work through than I expected, considering its length. I found myself having to pause and think pretty often, so I wouldn't classify this as an easy, breezy type of read. The social commentary is incredibly witty and thought-provoking.
My personal favorite stories were Apex Competitor, Question?, and Recent Activity. I really loved the definitions in this book as well. Quite a few of them were laugh-out-loud funny/poignant for me, and I will be stealing some of those lines to use in casual conversation.
May 28, 2022
A collection of short stories and a novella, mostly set in a near-future dystopia of war, climate change, and late-stage capitalism, within a Devil's Dictionary-like compilation. Dayle's writing is often sharp and very funny, particularly in his memorable definitions, and while some of the stories didn't land (he uses a comic structure of increasing repetition several times which, for me, didn't work) the novella is solid, some of the stories are great (the first, "Annotations," is just fantastic), and Dayle's voice is biting, modern and very welcome.
August 31, 2022
In May 2022, the literary critic Christian Lorentzen published a Substack newsletter about the state of entertainment: “Hollywood movies are boring. Television is boring. Pop music is boring. The art world is boring. Broadway is boring. Books from big publishing are boring…”
I agree with Mr. Lorentzen so I try to read things that aren’t run of the mill and offer something unique. If you are like this too, you will be impressed by Dennard Dayle’s writing. It’s clever and takes the reader to unexpected places. Mr. Dayle is an accomplished writer, making it a pleasant journey.
I agree with Mr. Lorentzen so I try to read things that aren’t run of the mill and offer something unique. If you are like this too, you will be impressed by Dennard Dayle’s writing. It’s clever and takes the reader to unexpected places. Mr. Dayle is an accomplished writer, making it a pleasant journey.
December 16, 2022
I recommend this book to everyone!
I actually received this book through Reddit. Author Dennard Dayle did an AMA for promo & I casually asked if I can get a copy of his book. He said sure!
Witty & thoughtful, this collection is one that leaves the reader thinking a lot more that they probably wanted to, in a good way.
I actually received this book through Reddit. Author Dennard Dayle did an AMA for promo & I casually asked if I can get a copy of his book. He said sure!
Witty & thoughtful, this collection is one that leaves the reader thinking a lot more that they probably wanted to, in a good way.
June 3, 2023
I love the Devil's Dictionary updated for the 21st century but it's the near-future sci-fi that gripped me. "Own Goal" is particularly haunting, though "Post Atomic Stress" was a great novella(?). Dennard has these great phrases that resonate with me and if I'd bought it in ebook it would be highlighted up. I eagerly await more from him.
June 23, 2025
The definitions were excellent but the stories, not so much. The only one that really pulled me in was Post-Atomic Stress.”
The rest were forgettable and boring. This is a very subjective take and I do realize that everyone has different tastes. For this reason, I would still recommend this book.
While it wasn’t for me, there are plenty of people that would enjoy it.
The rest were forgettable and boring. This is a very subjective take and I do realize that everyone has different tastes. For this reason, I would still recommend this book.
While it wasn’t for me, there are plenty of people that would enjoy it.
May 14, 2022
I won a copy of this book on Goodreads and am happy that I did because I probably wouldn’t have picked it up browsing a book store. I will definitely read more of this author’s work. This book was very clever and entertaining. I really loved the format too.
June 1, 2022
Wickedly funny. The innovative structure of the book is initially startling but surprisingly easy to fall into after the first few letters of the alphabet pass by with witty one-liners and strangely hilarious, out there and yet somehow very relevant short stories.
May 4, 2024
Dayle’s work is biting, hilarious satire that sinks its way into you and provides the only acceptable relief when encountering the daily news: laughter. The more he writes, the sharper he’ll get. So in that case, let the man cook ( one of my kid’s friends taught me that phrase).
June 20, 2022
"Anarchism: A brick-based martial art.
Author’s note: I tried joining a local group, but the guy in charge was the worst."
d y i n g
Author’s note: I tried joining a local group, but the guy in charge was the worst."
d y i n g
June 22, 2022
Definitely funny
July 7, 2022
Brilliant read. Highly recommended to all.
August 20, 2022
Potent, biting and extremely funny satire.
December 31, 2022
Virtuosic stories, one liners, and a novella. Created a sensation of serendipity as it thrusts you into each piece; an email exchange, a bank statement, a speed walker's training routine.
Where did Dayle find all this stuff in his brain??Breathtaking. Experimental fiction at its very best
Where did Dayle find all this stuff in his brain??Breathtaking. Experimental fiction at its very best
February 3, 2023
It had me at Analysis: The long road back to a firmly held opinion.
July 7, 2023
(4.25 Stars)
I really liked this book!
It was Satirical, Cynical, Sarcastic, a beautifully written information dump. This book is like no other and I can't wait to see more from this author.
I really liked this book!
It was Satirical, Cynical, Sarcastic, a beautifully written information dump. This book is like no other and I can't wait to see more from this author.
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October 14, 2024Read just 4% and that was generous. Really not my thing.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews