The Magic Kingdom

by Stanley Elkin, Rick Moody (Introduction)

Overview

Brimming with Elkin's comic brilliance and singular wordplay, The Magic Kingdom tells the story of Eddy Bale, who, determined to learn from the ghastly experience of his son's long, drawn-out death, decides to give seven terminally ill children a dream vacation before they die.

Abandoned by his wife and devastated by the death of his twelve-year old son, Eddy Bale becomes obsessed with the plight of terminally ill children and develops a plan to provide a last hurrah dream vacation for seven children who will never grow-up.

Eddy and his four dysfunctional chaperones journey to the entertainment capital of America—Disney World. Once they arrive, a series of absurdities characteristic of an Elkin novel—including a freak snowstorm and a run-in with a vengeful Mickey Mouse—transform Eddy's idealistic wish into a fantastic nightmare.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628976083
Publisher:	Deep Vellum Publishing
Publication date:	07/01/2025
Series:	Dalkey Archive Essentials
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stanley Elkin (1930-1995) was an award-winning author of novels, short stories, and essays. Born in the Bronx, Elkin received his BA and PhD from the University of Illinois and in 1960 became a professor of English at Washington Universityin St. Louis where he taught until his death. His critically acclaimed works include the National Book Critics Circle Award-winners George Mills (1982) and Mrs. Ted Bliss (1995), as well as the National Book Award finalists The Dick Gibson Show (1972), Searches and Seizures (1974), and The MacGuffin(1991). His book of novellas, Van Gogh's Room at Arles, was a finalist for the PEN Faulkner Award. Many of his novels are available or forthcoming in new editions from Dalkey Archive Press.

Editorial Reviews

Mr. Elkin's language is always a surprise and a joy. Mr. Elkin tortures language the way fate usually tortures his characters, but Mr. Elkin is kinder than fate and more fruitful. He squeezes out new meanings....Even fiction, that familiar opener of eyes, rarely opens our eyes to the interior terrors. We are accustomed to metaphors of disease and decay. Mr. Elkin presents the real thing; not metaphors, kids. Novelists may X-ray the soul and the psyche, but we leave the body to technicians. Not Stanley Elkin. -- New York Times

Max Apple

Elkin, 1982 winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for George Mills, tells the story of seven terminally ill English children who visit Disney World. Including an audience with a Scrabble-possessed Queen Elizabeth, this work is ``absurd yet convincing and mordantly funny,'' PW stated. (May)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Meet Eddy Bale, whose 12-year-old son has tragically died from a terminal illness. Eddy is determined to take other terminally ill children to Disney's Magic Kingdom to experience life. Elkin's similes and stream-of-consciousness descriptions flow seamlessly from Graeme Malcolm's narration. However, Malcolm's bland droning and decidedly British accent require the listener to work a little harder to appreciate the tale buried within the literary technique. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 00 - AudioFile