Unpronounceable (Conversation Pieces) - Softcover

DiRende, Susan

3.88

43 ratings by Goodreads

9781619761070: Unpronounceable (Conversation Pieces)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1619761076 ISBN 13: 9781619761070

Publisher: Aqueduct Press, 2016

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Special Citation, 2017 Philip K. Dick Award

Earth has discovered it is not alone in the universe. The aliens — pink, shapeless, and peaceful — are very nice, but after a string of failed diplomatic missions, they ask Earth to stop with the crazies and send someone normal. In frustration, the UN devises a lottery to pick the next ambassador and washes its hands of the problem. Enter Rose Delancy, a Jersey waitress with a grudge against pretty much the whole world, but especially her sister, Alice. Rose is not actually happy about winning, though Rose is not particularly happy about anything. When she arrives on Unpronounceable — the planet having a name she refuses to try to say — she is nothing but rude to the Blobs, as she calls them, and they find it refreshing. She likes them, they like her, and Rose has the job of ambassador for as long as she wants. Rose settles in and starts teaching the natives all about humans with the help of Hollywood movies, junk food, and the occasional bout of PMS. They show her a few things of their own involving the transformation of matter, but Rose is only interested in how it applies to sex. That is until she learns that she’s been suckered to play the patsy for an interstellar takeover by Earth. To avoid the horrors of planetary annihilation, not to mention having to go back to Jersey and her family, Rose and the Blobs have to stop the invasion, save the planet, and ultimately take on her sister.

Reviews

DiRende's irreverence is a delight. And her sarcastic wit comes through in Rose's first-person narration. Your feisty little broad from Jersey knows what's what. And a dose of Unpronounceable unreality might be just the thing to get your own nasty attitude adjusted right. Capisce?

Gerald Everett Jones, Splash Magazines

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About the Author:

Susan diRende ran away from college and joined the circus at 20, where she learned how to step outside the boundaries just far enough to get a laugh. Ever since then, she has been writing, painting, performing, and directing with the goal of bringing about illumination and transformation through laughter. In 2005, she founded the Broad Humor Film Festival, Los Angeles, to support women's comedic vision on film, which was named one of the five top film festivals for women in the world. In the 1990s, Susan hosted the popular InsomniActs Cabaret on Capitol Hill, called by John Longenbaugh of the Seattle Weekly one of the best small-stage acts in the city. She also performed at venues such as the Comedy Underground. Susan wrote and produced theater readings and productions at the NW Actors Studio, the Empty Space, and Studio East, and directed a number of productions at the NW Asian American Theater, the NW Actors Studio, Youth Theater Northwest, and others. She has been a recipient of awards from both Seattle Arts Commission and the Artist Trust.

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