'Processed Cheese' Is Hard To Love — But Easy To Admire
Stephen Wright's new novel is a darkly funny satire of American consumer culture, set in a Day-Glo alternate reality that's unsettlingly close to our own. It's an exhausting but unforgettable read.
In a fairer — or at least weirder — literary world, Stephen Wright would be as famous as Thomas Pynchon or Don DeLillo. He's has only written five novels since his debut in 1983 with , but two of them, and , are among the best of the last century. Wright is an unpredictable author with an unwavering commitment to the surreal; you get the feeling he couldn't write a straight story even if he wanted to. And it's pretty clear he's never wanted to.
