Description

Becker’s Universe Other Stories brings together a group of tales, 16 in all, that range from the
doomed-to-failure search for the perfectly-designed home (“The Architect”) to electro-hermits
emerging from caves (“The Singular One”), from poor old Franz unable to rest (“Kafka’s
Ghosts”) to an Italian household waking up to strange noises coming from the wine barrels (“The
Cantina”). The collection is bookended by two Becker stories: “Becker’s Universe: Part One”
and “At the Re-Invention of Becker: Part Two” in which the main character attempts to navigate
through a constantly changing world that starts with inexplicable nightmares out of nowhere and
ends with Becker getting to meet his “creator” in the midst of a war zone. Throughout, the stories
seem as if they’re anchored in typical situations mostly of the everyday variety—a job, walking
along railway tracks, writer’s block—only to morph into strange places that serve to leave the
reader disoriented and uncertain.