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Nagging Wives, Foolish Husbands Paperback – February 18, 2014

by Nathaniel Tower (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
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“Most people probably think that marriage is surreal enough, but Nathaniel Tower takes the absurdity a step further in this imaginative collection. In examining characters who give birth to boots, find gorillas in their spare bedrooms, and cheat the Potato King out of a stolen ring, Tower delights the reader at the same time that he provides strangely tender and apt insight into how we live our lives together.”
– David S. Atkinson, author of Bones Buried in the Dirt

“Wildebeests and gorillas in the house, a woman giving birth to a boot, babies who grow up before their time, a woman in love with a blade of grass — welcome to the weird, surreal, fascinating world of Nate Tower where anything and everything goes. Brilliant, witty, and satirical — I haven’t had this much fun reading fiction since Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Welcome to the Monkey House’ and Thomas Pynchon’s ‘The Crying of Lot 49.’”
– Jeffrey Miller, author of Ice Cream Headache

“Nathaniel Tower has an innate gift of making the implausible, the impossible, the insignificant spring to life as evidenced in his new story collection Nagging Wives, Foolish Husbands. What is utterly absurd becomes a form of (suspended) reality that this reader accepted and followed to its conclusion, with interest, and in some stories a pang of concern. Tower’s collection brings to mind the brain of Kafka.”
– Susan Tepper, author of The Merrill Diaries

Published by Martian Lit.
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  1. Print length
    134 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    February 18, 2014
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.31 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0615970354
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0615970356
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Most people probably think that marriage is surreal enough, but Nathaniel Tower takes the absurdity a step further in this imaginative collection. In examining characters who give birth to boots, find gorillas in their spare bedrooms, and cheat the Potato King out of a stolen ring, Tower delights the reader at the same time that he provides strangely tender and apt insight into how we live our lives together." - David S. Atkinson, author of Bones Buried in the Dirt

"Wildebeests and gorillas in the house, a woman giving birth to a boot, babies who grow up before their time, a woman in love with a blade of grass -- welcome to the weird, surreal, fascinating world of Nate Tower where anything and everything goes. Brilliant, witty, and satirical -- I haven't had this much fun reading fiction since Kurt Vonnegut's 'Welcome to the Monkey House' and Thomas Pynchon's 'The Crying of Lot 49.'" - Jeffrey Miller, author of Ice Cream Headache

"Nathaniel Tower has an innate gift of making the implausible, the impossible, the insignificant spring to life as evidenced in his new story collection Nagging Wives, Foolish Husbands. What is utterly absurd becomes a form of (suspended) reality that this reader accepted and followed to its conclusion, with interest, and in some stories a pang of concern. Tower's collection brings to mind the brain of Kafka." - Susan Tepper, author of The Merrill Diaries

About the Author

Nathaniel Tower lives in the Twin Cities area with his wife and daughter. After teaching high school English for nine years, he decided to start a new career in writing / publishing / editing. His fiction has appeared in over two hundred online and print journals. In 2011, MuseItUp Publishing released his first novel, A Reason to Kill, followed a year later by his first novella, Hallways and Handguns. Nathaniel is the founding and managing editor of Bartleby Snopes Literary Magazine and Press. When he's not doing writerly things, he likes to joggle (juggle and run simultaneously). He is the former world record holder for running a mile backwards while juggling. He is working on getting his record back. Find out more about Nathaniel at nathanieltower.wordpress.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Martian Lit (February 18, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 134 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0615970354
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0615970356
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.31 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 14 ratings

About the author

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Nathaniel Tower

Nathaniel Tower

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Nathaniel (Nate) Tower lives in the Twin Cities area with his wife and daughters. After teaching high school English in Missouri for nine years, he decided to pursue writing and marketing. His short fiction has appeared in over two hundred online and print journals. Twenty-four of his surreal tales about the married life are compiled in the short story collection Nagging Wives, Foolish Husbands (Martian Lit, 2014). In 2011, MuseItUp Publishing released his first novel, A Reason to Kill, followed a year later by his first novella, Hallways and Handguns.

Nathaniel is the founding and managing editor of Bartleby Snopes Literary Magazine and Press. When he's not doing writerly things, he likes to joggle (juggle and run simultaneously). He is the former world record holder for running a mile backwards while juggling. He is working on getting his record back. Find out more about Nathaniel at nathanieltower.com.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
14 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeffrey Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2014
Verified Purchase
What else can be said about Nathaniel Tower's brilliant, witty, and delightful collection of short stories that hasn't been said already? I was fortunate to have had the chance to read an advance copy of this collection--and I liked it so much I bought another copy for my iPad!

Nate is a brilliant wordsmith and at times when I was reading this collection, I thought of him as a circus or carnival sideshow barker directing us to take a chance with some of the sideshows to enjoy the unusual, the surreal, the bizarre and the strange. That's what you get with this collection of stories; we get to see many different worlds and lives which are often unusual, strange, and yes, a little bizarre, but that is life.

Step right up and take a look inside. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Jeffrey Miller,
Author of Ice Cream Headache
3 people found this helpful
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Susan Tepper
5.0 out of 5 stars Funny does not begin to describe...
Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2014
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the humor in this book! I sat reading it in a public place and was laughing out loud so hard to the point where people started looking over. Nate Tower has this ability to be funny. It's not forced humor. It's his take on life and he flings it onto the page without gazing around to see if anyone is watching, or offended, or ... anything. Because truly funny people don't have to work at it. This kind of humor is a born gift. The stories are strikingly different, with amazing true to life dialogue. And that's what really cements the humor he creates in his off-beat plots. Ordinary people, in less than ordinary circumstances. Do yourself a favor. Buy this book. It's the cheapest high you will ever get.
5 people found this helpful
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Madelyn von Ree
1.0 out of 5 stars Definitely a misleading title…
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2022
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Not what I was expecting at all when buying this, I wanted a self help book about how to be more patient, but ended up with a confusing (funny) amalgam of random stories. Quite weird, and quite a waste of time and money.
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Emma J
4.0 out of 5 stars Suburban Family Weirdness
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2014
Suburban marital tedium is completely obliterated by one bit of weirdness after the next. Husbands lose their balls only to have them grow back to ridiculous proportions. Wives fall in love with blades of grass. The standout piece, "The Abortion Party," takes the concept of baby showers and turns them into something horrendous. Tower does a skillful job of creating a growing sense of dread and alienation that carries through to the unsettling finale. If there's a flaw in this book, it's that Tower seems to have a bit of a "Look, a big animal appeared in the house out of nowhere" fetish, as that theme appears in several stories. But then again, if you think giant, misplaced gorillas is a flaw, you're probably the weird one.
One person found this helpful
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TMM
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2014
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This is not my usual genre for pleasure reading, though I do like a variety of styles. (I shamelessy enjoy young adult fiction and Harry Potter!) This collection of stories was very intriguing and thought provoking. On the surface, strange and sometimes morbid, but there was always something deeper, waiting to be discovered. It's hard to describe what the tales are like as I don't want to give away their content. It's something you have to read, and reread, yourself to understand. There is humor, sadness, anger, astonishment, and even some tenderness. From someone who usually reads full length novels, epic adventures, fantasy, romance, chick lit, and series, this was a pleasant distraction from my usual fare. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something out of the ordinary. Keep up the good work, Mr. Tower!
One person found this helpful
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Paul Beckman
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly Original & Enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2014
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What a treat! Nagging & Foolish perhaps but laugh-out-loud funny and creative as well. Tower's stories are playful & bizarre in the best sense. He has no boundaries except telling good tales, and there's one good one after another. Truly a ride on the wild side!
3 people found this helpful
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Sam Lazechko
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Read
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2014
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Nathaniel Tower has created an impressive collection of stories. Full of logical and relatable characters dealing with illogical and absurd situations, Nagging Wives, Foolish Husbands is a funny, enjoyable read, and is insightful without overwhelming the reader. Recommended for anyone who likes to read!
6 people found this helpful
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AprilMay
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Fantastic Trip Into the Surreal Experiences Of The Married Life
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2014
Verified Purchase
I pre-ordered this book and devoured it in one sitting when it arrived. Each story in Nathaniel Tower’s collection, Nagging Wives, Foolish Husbands, delighted me. Shades of Faulkner, O’Conner, Sophocles, Euripides, Vonnegut, and Kafka peek out of Tower’s wit, finesse, and skill as he drops the reader into surreal world after surreal world where the fantastic resides along with the ordinary but feels familiar and comfortable: women and men get their revenge upon one another with baby-silencing and pleasure-depriving machines, monsters live under beds and occupy laundry rooms, a devoted wife can’t bear to bury her husband, a woman wakes up one day to discover that her husband is a hideous stranger. The absurd, sympathetic situations create an immediate rapport between the reader and characters’ lives, conflicts, desires, and longings. It’s a wonderful book.
One person found this helpful
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