His prose is as rhythmic as mid-tempo rock and the situations he conceives are intriguing through the final beat. Chuck Klosterman defines Raised in Captivity, his latest story collection, as “fictional nonfiction.” One can only hope they weren’t based too closely on true stories. Imagine opening the door to an airliner restroom and finding a puma on the toilet seat, “looking back with an empty intensity” that matched the protagonist’s own state of mind.
Raised in Captivity includes many moments when strangeness intrudes into the banality of contemporary existence. The stories are less surreal than photo realistic and are rendered with ironic cynicism. “What’s the upside of meeting interesting people if you’re already married,” wonders the husband in “Fluke.”
An Evening with Chuck Klosterman takes place at The Back Room @ Colectivo, 2211 N. Prospect Ave. on Thursday, July 18, at 7 p.m.