An alternate universe? A different dimension? The "id" of America? Meet Anslenot and his tormentor/confident, a giant tarantula, as they wander through a blasted, desecrated landscape of broken ideals and shattered hopes. In this place, nothing is right. The Militant Lambs fight with the Opposition and no one knows whose side who is on. Add to that Martians... Venusians... Elvis.... To top it off, Anslenot is hounded by his dysfunctional family and upbringing...and legendary surrealist Franz Kafka makes Anslenot his honorary uncle. Nightmarish, strange, bizarre--the way things are to be? Or the way things--really are?Also included in this collection is the novella The Humphrey Bogart Blues, a sympathetic look at Marilyn Monroe, who had she just been able to hook up with the Martians......and twenty-eight additional stories, previously published as well as some unpublished, testify to the breadth and scope of writing of, as one editor has stated, one of the top writers of Magic Realism.Praise for KAFKA'S UNCLE"It's important to realize that Bruce's stories are not strange; the world is, and he's separated himself from it in order to show us new realities, with remarkable clarity and insight. I am one of his admirers, and I am not alone.-Brian Herbert, New York Times best-selling author, and co-author with Kevin J. Anderson of the Dune series"Bruce Taylor's writing is always unexpected, even extraordinary. He certainly earns his title of 'Mr. Magic Realism.'"-Kevin J. Anderson, author of Scattered Suns, Dune novels, and other New York Times best-sellersBruce Taylor has earned the title of "Mr. Magic Realism" by dint of producing works that are fascinating, insightful, and downright fun to read. His fiction will make you think...and smile.-Ben Bova