Once Human
Stories
Published on 31. March 2014
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-1-57366-176-8 (ISBN)
Description
A manga artist who is afraid that she herself is slipping into a cartoon version of life, a lab technician who makes art with the cloning technology she uses at work, a sociologist hunting for the gene that makes some people want to take risks-these are some of the characters that populate the stories in Once Human. Exploring the spaces where life is shaped by science and the technologies we bring into being, Steve Tomasula's characters often find that the harder they look at the world, the less they can say. The map that emerges from these stories charts the territory of human longing and the failure of poetry, science, and technology to explain the "why" of the world, if not its "how."
Reviews / Votes
"In many ways, Steve Tomasula's fifth book, Once Human, is a very good introduction to the work of this conspicuously unconventional writer. Venturesome readers will find that his collection indeed exhibits Tomasula's trademark assimilation of visual elements-photos, illustrations, graphs and charts, drawings-into the verbal 'text,' as well as the inveterate manipulation of typography and page design. But encountering these devices through a selection of stories allows the readers to contemplate Tomasula's strategies in shorter samples, perhaps encouraging readers to appreciate that these strategies are both purposeful and ultimately accessible."-Kenyon Review|"Tomasula creates a new postmodern, post-human realism that richly traces our infinite potential of self-production, with just enough human left to give it a beating heart."
-Quarterly West|"In Once Human, Tomasula impresses not only with his literary skills but also with the range of his knowledge."
-The Collagist
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Normal
United States
Publishing group
The University of Alabama Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
Illustrations throughout
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
512 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-57366-176-8 (9781573661768)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2015
1st Edition
University of Alabama Press
€48.99
Available for download
Person
Steve Tomasula is the author of the novels VAS: An Opera in Flatland, The Book of Portraiture, IN & OZ, and TOC: A New-Media Novel. His short stories have appeared in Bomb, McSweeneys, the Iowa Review, and many other publications. A Howard Fellow, he lives in Chicago.