Not Normal, Illinois

"The Midwest can be derided as being the middle of nowhere, but Not Normal, Illinois makes a stong case that it's actually in the middle of everywhere. The ordered grids of farm land you see as you gaze out the window of a plane flying over this vast, unpopulated region are a deception—look closer and you'll see immense literary talent sprouting from and feeding off this fertile loam.Spring 2010"—raintaxi.com

"Michael Martone succeeds in corralling a wonderful array of tales, one that would make all Midwest folk, snapping the straps on their overalls and sniffing the apple pie on the ledge, right proud.May/June 2010, Vol. 31, No. 4"—American Book Review

"Not Normal, Illinois is a fine and strongly recommended read for any who want a sampling of mid-western philosophy.December 2009"—Library Bookwatch

"Just as the Midwest, this vast, various, and unclassifiable place, is not nearly so conventional as it's reputed to be, the literature of the heartland has a long tradition of original, innovative writing that is flourishing today more than ever."—Porter Shreve, author of The Obituary Reader

"Google Earth notwithstanding, those of us who live in the Midwest know it is not really a flyover zone but another intriguing planet, and the writers in this volume understand that. They have developed new fictional forms for new life forms—their stories are surprising, funny, moving, challenging, and weird in equal measure. I plan to use this collection in the earthbound classroom and hereby nominate Michael Martone for intergalactic editor-in-chief."—Valerie Sayers, Brain Fever, 1996

"As a Midwestern-born-and-reared writer myself, I have always wondered where the New Stories from the Midwest and its ilk are. Michael Martone's wonderful anthology, Not Normal, Illinois, explains this void in a way I've always instinctively suspected: rather than being too bland, we Midwesterners are too profoundly and intimidatingly whack. This is a funny, scary, challenging, sublime book. The Gothic South ain't got nothin' on us."—Robert Olen Butler, Intercourse: Stories, 2008

"Here's a real carousel of a collection, stories that rotate, more or less, around the midwest of most of their settings, though "settings" would imply fiction of a more traditional sort and these outings are bright and flashy constructions, conceptual and timely to a fault, but full of fun and pathos, erudition and outrage, 33 whirling rides, all exciting and illuminating, by a number of familiar practitioners, such as Rikki Ducornet, Robert Coover, George Saunders, and some newer kids on the block, like Lily Hoang, Erin Pringle, Michael Wilkerson. The amusement continues in the contributors' notes — all brought together by that most accomplished of literary midway barkers, Michael Martone. Climb aboard! You won't regret it."—William O'Rourke, Notts and Criminal Tendencies

"This anthology is an unusually insightful one and serves an important purpose in the context of American fiction writing."—R. M. Berry, Florida State University