Nickel Plated Gold: Stories by Brian Bieber

An inept improvisor downplays his fake drug addiction to impress a pretty grad student. A jaded trauma surgeon laments the dearth of comedy in his workplace. A forlorn circus clown tries to convince himself he has not been made a fool by his cheating spouse. NICKEL PLATED GOLD is populated by characters stumbling–sometimes flailing–through lives fraught with self-doubt, delusion, and absurdity. From the ludicrous pontification of How I Would Fight Certain Animals to the tender rumination of Love Life, Brian Bieber’s first collection of stories is filled with characters who are desperate to do things right, but tend to fail hilariously. Without a lot of fanfare or exposition, [Brian] can connect what you don’t know with what you do. He recognizes there are moments in art that should be beautiful. There are moments that should not. His swift pacing allows him to do humor successfully; his facility with tone allows him to do absurdism; but it’s his rendering of human nature that defines my favorite of his stories. - Dessa author of SPIRAL BOUND from the foreword Funny, smart, and plenty weird. Also the perfect size to read on a single trip from the U.S. to wherever you travel abroad for illegal plastic surgery. - Jason Roeder Writer/producer, adultswim.com; former senior writer, The Onion