The Queen of Puerto Rico and Other Stories: And Other Stories

by Joe Frank and Joe Frank

A debut short fiction collection by the popular radio dramatist features a surrealistic world populated by characters with jobs, not careers, with no real purpose and only vague realizations. 25,000... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0688087655
• ISBN13: 9780688087654
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 175 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Brilliant, but that's to be expected from Joe Frank.

Joe Frank, The Queen of Puerto Rico and Other Stories (Morrow, 1993)That this book appeared and disappeared as quickly as it did is testament to how much faith America has lost in radio. Frank, the undisputed king of noir radio drama, released this collection of transcriptions, elaborations, asides, segues, and other obvious evasions of traditional short story writing, to shall we say a crashing silence. Which is unfortunate.While the stories do lose something when not delivered in Frank's trademark deadpan style, the very oddity of them should still be appealing for those who haven't been introduced to Frank's radio work. The basis for much of what Frank does is to take a regular situation we're all involved in regularly, then draw it to the most absurd conclusion possible. You end up with things like "Fat Man," about a college student who forgets to pay for a brownie one day, then decides he's going to start a collection of stolen Howard Johnson's brownies, or the O. Henryesque "Green Cadillac," about a man standing on a city streetcorner waiting to meet a guy who owes him money and the various people who accost him.Where the stories fall short, most times, are when the same attempts to interweave completely disparate stories bleed over from radio (where they lend the work an odd, attention-keeping power) into the text. Here, they just seem confusing for the most part (the notable exception being the title story, perhaps the best in the collection, where everything coalesces into a lovely absurd slice of life story). But it is a minor problem at best, and should in no way keep both hardcore Frankophiles and folks who have never heard Frank before from seeking out a copy of this collection. While you're at it, pick up copies (KCRW sells them) of the CDs of "Rent a Family" and "The Dictator," two novel-length radio dramas that showcase Frank at his best. **** ½

Joe Frank turns to the pen

Joe Frank is known for being a unique radio personality, having starting his career at NPR, but eventually taking up residence at KCRW doing a wildly inventive weekly radio show that almost defies description. Basically, his hour-long program consists of monologues, dramas, and/or live interactions exploring a wide range of mostly fictional material usually centering on real existential themes, human relationships, the bizarre, ridiculous, and satirical, all with an undercurrent of "dark" humor."The Queen of Puerto Rico & Other Stories" represents his foray into creative writing as a medium, during one of many short-lived sabbaticals from the radio show. In this collection, the 8 stories (Tell Me What To Do, Fat Man, Night, Green Cadillac, Date, The Queen of Puerto Rico, Winter, and The Decline of Spengler) are all taken from one or another show, and set down on paper. The result is not nearly as satisfying as the show itself as you might expect (given the lack of music and spoken word), though if you've ever heard him on the radio, you can't help but hear his voice while reading the words. This goes doubly for me, because I heard him give a live reading from the book after it was published -- it was an interesting experience given that his radio voice is electronically altered for effect. Anyway, the stories here focus on human relationships with the usual themes of dysfunction, aimlessness, death, sex, love, and various forms of misery. Of course, the book is now out of print and hard to come by -- even Joe Frank only owns a single copy, so it is unlikely that anyone will ever buy this or read this review. But if you find a copy, know that it's a rarity (my own autographed copy is moldy from water damage and I keep looking for a replacement). If you're a Joe Frank fan, you'll want to have a copy to see how his writing translates on paper. If you aren't familiar with his work, skip the book, find his website (joefrank.com) where he now works independently of KCRW, and brace yourself for the experience.

A very compelling group of short stories

I can little relate to stories of heroic millionaires living in castles, or titled members of European Society. Joe Frank gives us a group of short stories about real people with real problems, worries, and conditions. From stories of compulsive, loser nebbishes like "Fat Man" to the tragedy of the Human condition found in "Night", Frank gives us characters we many times find disgusting, yet fascinating. And Frank's excellent narrative storytelling style only makes it better. I would highly recommend this book.

Joe Frank Amuses Again

Frank keeps you intrested with his own discriptive style characterized in his weekly radio programs. Worth reading.