The Rise & Fall of the Scandamerican Domestic: Stories

February 1, 2014

In his debut collection, Merkner presents a darkly funny set of stories that look closely at heartland American culture and reflect it back with devastating accuracy. In "Time in Normallstorg," for example, violent war games at a child's birthday party are not only condoned but encouraged as a means to develop the killer spirit from an early age, and the one parent who complains gets beaten up (and more) by the party's adult hosts. In "Last Cottage," the permanent residents of a community doggedly work together to banish the last family from their lakeside vacation home by any means (including massive killing of fish) for the sake of commercial development. But they are perplexed by the resilient cheerfulness of the seasonal visitors, which runs counter to their inbred "Scandamerican" work ethic. VERDICT Merkner's relentlessly deadpan reportorial voice is not so different from that of Garrison Keillor (Lake Wobegon Days) or the Coen brothers (Fargo). Going in unexpected directions that evoke both laughter and horror, these stories will appeal to readers who are willing to give in to their sense of the absurd.--Sue Russell, Bryn Mawr, PA

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 5, 2013
Absurdity and surrealism rule in Merkner’s debut collection, which is set in a place where men fall in love with pigs, parents viscerally battle over the idea of violence, and townsfolk go to extremes to drive unwanted families from their neighborhoods. Sweden lingers in the background of the volume’s 17 stories, and often protagonists are fathers of young children. In “O Sweet One in the Bluff,” a man who finds it physically impossible to speak to his daughter travels with her to “the only mountain in Wisconsin,” while a hit-and-run in “Local Accident” sparks memories of other accidents—from the physical (hitting someone with an automobile) to the emotional (an unfortunate bout of trash talking between father and son that leads to an odd reconciliation in the bread aisle of a grocery store). Merkner’s narratives pulsate with confidence, mixing the weird (a five-year-old the size of a 15-year-old, a couple that paints an entire house one color) with moments of earnestness, and the result is a memorable book. Still, mixed within the collection are several microfictions that, while continuing to amp up the bizarre, fail to fully resonate.