Why Visit America

Reviews / Votes

A little revelation . . . The fantastical tales in this delightful book poke, with gleeful audacity, at the edges of contemporary America and late capitalism . . . Transitions of sex, gender, family, geographical borders, digital communication, language and even neurological states are examined in thrillingly imaginative stories . . . A witty, exuberant collection which variously reminded me of The Paper Menagerie, Friday Black, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Years and Years. Mind-bending, like all the best drugs * Big Issue * There's a skew-whiff wonderfulness to the thirteen tales in this off-kilter look at contemporary America and all its contradictions . . . Tackling hot-button topics, Baker tip-tilts the perspective, offering something at once strange yet instantly familiar . . . It's all masterfully done, and Baker's prose is engagingly easeful, yet hypnotically elegant * Daily Mail * Conspicuously talented . . . Baker never takes the easy way out. He doesn't brandish sharp swords at American capitalism or consumer excess or fears that masquerade as politics. Neither does he construct straw men, then ask the reader to applaud when he lights them on fire. Instead, he demonstrates charity toward his characters, who as Americans stand in for the prismatic nature of the country itself * Washington Post * Satirical and deeply humane, these poignant stories expose the moral bankruptcy at the rotten core of the American social contract * Esquire * Matthew Baker is the rarest of writers, one who can turn complex, high-concept stories into sublime character-driven psalms. His work is both highly original and refreshingly human -- Noah Hawley, creator of 'Fargo' Baker's writing is taut yet lyrical, and brims with sensitivity towards the pitfalls of human experience * The Rumpus * How does he do it? Matthew Baker's mind is an oyster producing pearl after pearl. Each story in Why Visit America offers an eerie and unsettling vision of our possible future while remaining emotionally truthful, and, as always, incredibly damn fun -- Kelly Luce, author of 'Pull Me Under' Matthew Baker's Why Visit America is at once deeply heartbroken by the state of our country and world, and also deeply hopeful about what both could be. These stories critically examine the harms wrought by American xenophobia, misogyny, transphobia and capitalism while also bearing an abiding, profound love for this planet and for its people. This is a brilliant collection that shines with imagination, and with empathy -- Anna Valente, author of 'The Desert Sky Before Us' With his unique brand of quirky, sardonic compassion, Matthew Baker offers us a book that's like a cross-country road trip as seen through a funhouse mirror. At once trenchant and deeply tender, the stories in Why Visit America thrum with all that is exasperating, absurd, tragic, and still so compelling about life in these United States -- Naomi J. Williams, author of 'Landfalls' Matthew Baker's stories are wild in all the best ways but Why Visit America isn't just a triumph of weirdness - these stories use a variety of skewed lenses to offer smart critiques of the systems and beliefs humming through so much of American life. They also somehow manage to be, always, a ton of fun to read -- Lee Connell, author of 'Subcortical' This is the first of its kind, a work born of a deep understanding and a philosophical awareness of how things are. Over a century ago James Joyce aimed to write a moral history of his country: Matthew Baker has achieved that for his own. At the end of this acclaimed and untouchable collection there has been horror, but what remains is love * Lunate * Baker has a knack for this: for placing us in situations that are as foreseeable as they are creative; his musical, visual storytelling swaying us on-side, eliciting, 'ahs' and 'ohs', while we devour his original ideas about modern society. Within each parable, a sense of hope ... It is this that makes his work most memorable (and with our current situation, relevant) long after reading * Port * Baker's prose is astonishingly crisp, whilst his imagination and storytelling prowess are masterfully original and deeply touching, causing the reader to lose themselves in this most beguiling and transforming collection - once you've read Why Visit America, you'll feel changed, you'll feel enlightened and most of all you'll be witnessing greatness * Storgy Magazine *