Plastic Alaska

Abstract

The stories in Plastic Alaska depict characters losing--often literally--their own identities. Whether it be a young boy who believes that an Alaskan theme park ride transformed him into a different person, or a woman who finds herself compulsively imagining murdering her husband after watching a Terrence Malick film, or a desperate man who assumes the identity of his former best friend so he can get a job on a reality TV show, these characters find themselves thrown--sometimes reluctantly, sometimes willingly--into situations where they must leave their former selves behind just to survive the unwelcome intrusions of an absurd, demanding reality. Plastic Alaska shows--in worlds that range from the real to the fantastical--the dread, uneasiness, and occasional joy that accompanies metamorphosis.