Our Island of Epidemics

by Matthew Salesses

Fourteen tiny tales recount the story of a community of island dwellers who catch their island’s strange and fleeting epidemics—epidemics like memory loss, unrequited love, magic, extrasensitive hearing, talking to animals, and dissociation—and the relationship that the people of the island have with their home, with each other, and with the diseases. That is, until one man becomes immune.

Told in the collective first-person, Our Island of Epidemics examines the nature of tale-telling when the audience for the tale includes the tellers themselves.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

40 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Bestselling author of The Hundred-Year Flood and Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear, among other books. Craft in the Real World comes out Jan, 2021. I’m adopted.

Reviews

[Jason Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I loved the idea. The language and style is direct and crisp. As a writer, I also personally love the use of We and Our in writing. When all the characters seem to speak together you definitely sit up and pay attention. It's great. My first real introduction to the writing of Matthew Saleses. It makes me excited to start reading his new one.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

while i was reading these short stories i was inflicted with the epidemic of reading them.

[Atiya]

Where can I purchase a copy of Our Island of Epidemics? I've checked Better World Books and the book is not available.