Circle is a Balloon & Compass Both

A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both is a collection of stories about love, the most elusive and problematic of all phenomena. With a mix of traditional, literary prose and bold-some might even say irresponsible-experimentation, Ben Greenman explores the ins and outs of modern romance. Expect tears, nudity, and recrimination. From the half-hearted summer affair between a part-time bartender and a married doctor in a Miami hotel to the cryptic pseudo-erotic love letters to a friend who is "more than a friend," we experience the love of pop songs, the love of cohabitation in Chicago, and love that is so transporting it takes us to the moon-literally.
"Like Green Day did for punk rock, and The Matrix for kung-fu flicks, this new collection from New Yorker editor Greenman could well become an advocate for the short story with those who haven't been interested in the form. Amusing, palatable . . . it's precisely the sort of thing that can gain a new audience for a genre." "Time Out Chicago "
"A smart, tightly structured collection . . . playful, wryly comical." " The Brooklyn Rail "
"Seriously funny." "San Francisco Chronicle"
"Wildly inventive, sometimes surreal, but tenderly told, these stories give a glimpse of what Phillip K. Dick might have written if he'd allowed himself a sincere broken heart." "Paste Magazine"