By way of introducing the new edition of <i>Tunneling to the Center of the Earth</i>, a short fiction collection re-released a little more than a decade after its debut, author Kevin Wilson has a very interesting way of explaining the difference between producing novels and short stories. Writing novels, he says, is like taking a long, peaceful trip in a car you bought with a low-cost loan; you know you are headed to a nice destination, but it does not even matter if you end up somewhere other than where you intended to go in the first place. On the other hand, producing short stories, for him at least, is like stealing the car, driving it really fast, knowingly crashing the car into a tree, and then crawling out of the wreckage to do it over again.

The 11 “car crashes” comprising this volume are all entertaining and thought-provoking examples of just what that metaphor implies about the creative process. Ranging in emotional impact from spectacular, fiery events (“Grand Stand-In”, “Blowing Up on the Spot”, “The Dead Sister Handbook”, “Museum of Whatnot”) to multi-vehicle pile-ups (“Birds in the House”, “Tunneling to the Center of the Earth”, “The Shooting Man”, “Worst-Case Scenario”) to more mundane fender-benders (“Mortal Kombat”, “The Choir Director’s Affair”, “Go, Fight, Win”), each of these stories exhibits the author’s surreal and off-center imagination to great effect. They all provide humorous looks—darkly humorous, to be sure—at people who are slightly removed from the mainstream of life and must deal with some extraordinary circumstances.

I really enjoyed reading this collection, which was the first of Wilson’s work that I have come across. He manages to create very relatable characters (although not always likeable) with ordinary human emotions who are involved in simply bizarre situations. For instance, the protagonist in “Blowing Up on the Spot” works at a Scrabble factory sorting letter Q tiles while try to reconcile the grief over the death of his parents, who have recently spontaneously combusted on a subway train. Or, the three recent college graduates in the title story who delay moving on with their lives by spending several months digging tunnels all over (under, actually) the city from a hole their parents’ backyard. <i>Tunneling to the Center of the Earth</i> may well have been executed early in the author’s career, but it is a book I can recommend without hesitation to any fan of engaging, well-crafted stories.

Tunneling to the Center of the Earth is a fantastic debut short story collection written by Kevin Wilson (novels include There's Nothing to See Here, The Family Fang, and more). The stories are imaginative, peculiar, and truly interesting to read. Kevin Wilson has a distinctive writing style, which is consistent throughout the book, and topics include spontaneous combustion, substitute grandparents, and first lust in the A/V room. My favorite stories were "The Dead Sister Handbook: A Guide for Sensitive Boys" and "The Choir Director Affair (The Baby's Teeth)". As with all his writing, you will think differently once you experience his imaginative storytelling. It's a excellent choice for fans of George Saunders, Etgar Keret, and Sabrina Orah Mark.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided courtesty of #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Available Spetember 2020.