“In his rich, beautifulshort story collection, Where Can I Take You When There’s Nowhere To Go,Joe Baumann accentuates the mysteries of human relationships with a skillfuland magical hand. Similar to the work of Aimee Bender and Judy Budnitz, Baumanndraws readers into intimate spaces, enabling personal connections through thefantastical access he provides—the magical manifestations of grief andloneliness, love and passion, trauma and shame, solidarity, individuality, andthe myriad modes of desire. Within this extraordinary collection, individualsevaporate, conjure clouds, consume whole bodies, harbor additional hearts, andproduce blood that sings. Baumann’s stories are layered with humor and heavywith the challenges and triumphs of social and self-acceptance. Where Can ITake You When There’s Nowhere To Go is as original as it is enjoyable toread—a rare combination that should be savored and shared as widely aspossible.”— Aaron Tillman, author of Consolation Miracles and EverySingle Bone in My Brain “In Where Can I TakeYou When There’s Nowhere To Go, Baumann uses the fantastic to representwith heart-wrenching precision those ‘tangling feelings’ that threaten todestroy his characters. Some evaporate, some sprout roots on their heads, somechange into mirrors, and some create clouds with their fingers—not by accidentor scientific experiment but because these are phenomena in their worlds thattransform and express raw human emotion with determined and sometimesredemptive clarity. Reading this collection means apprehending again and againthe hunger of despair, the miracle of love.” — Maria Brandt, authorof All the Words
