Vertigo Park And Other Tall Tales — Mark O'Donnell

A hilarious and wickedly original collection of pieces and cartoons by one of America's funniest writers.
 
The title story (as sweeping as any novel but without the annoying length, more glamorous than a miniseries but without commercial interruption) follows a tragic (not to give anything away) love triangle (an idealistic screen goddess and her two unshakable lovers -- who happen to become the last two presidents of the United States) through decades of (imaginary) American history.
 
Here is some of what you'll find: in “Marred Bliss,” the fractured puns of a love quadrangle (“Maybe you'd rather ram off with her! She's been trying to reduce you since she got here”)…in “Diary of a Fan,” the diarist's deepest thoughts (“I saw Sigourney Weaver on the street today. I pity her”)…in “The Whom of Kaboom,” a perilous cruise with Jack the Hipper, sculptor of the famous Venus de Mylar…and in “A Tall Tale,” a meeting with America's tallest tall-tale hero, Johnny Business, whose wealth requires three strong men just to conceive of.
 
Gasp for air, and then browse the high school yearbook of the planets, learn about electricity from electricity itself, and discover Emily Dickinson, advertising copywriter.
 
Vertigo Park is the latest from the wild workshop of Mark O'Donnell -- a hands-on volume for students of laughter everywhere.