Tacoma - Paperback

by Aaron Burch (Author)

Inspired to "take a break from life" by the idyllic housesitting situation they were offered for the summer, Aaron and Amber find themselves in Aaron's hometown of Tacoma, Washington. Amber works her remote job, Aaron tries to write and goes for runs along the waterfront, and they explore their temporary summer city on daily walks and regular excursions. Soon, noticing that the landscape seems to keep shifting around them, Aaron starts drawing a map of it all, attempting to document and make sense of the changes. When Tacoma starts to open up bigger and bigger with possibility and wonder, Tacoma starts to fold in on itself, becoming both more self-referential and more like the spontaneous, fantastical stories Aaron has been writing. A friend rides an orca to come visit. Pirates guard a wormhole in the forest. A secret doorway in the Tacoma Mall tunnels back to Aaron's childhood bedroom. Blending autofiction with fantasy, meta with magic, and earnestness with absurdity, Tacoma presents a recognizable but also magical world where we ask, if nothing is real, then why not have as much fun as possible?

Author Biography

Aaron Burch grew up in Tacoma, WA. He is the author of a novel, Year of the Buffalo; a memoir/literary analysis, Stephen King's The Body; a short story collection, Backswing; and a novella, How to Predict the Weather. He started the literary journal Hobart, which he edited for twenty years, and is currently the editor of Short Story, Long and the co-editor of WAS (Words & Sports) and HAD. He lives in Ann Arbor, MI.