This Can Be Easy or Hard

Stories and Essays

By: Mike Heppner

Narrated by: Fleet Cooper

This collection of five stories and four essays showcases the work of Mike Heppner, the writer whom Entertainment Weekly calls, "A fearsome cultural critic disguised in a novelist's clothing," and whose funny and biting fiction has been praised in Esquire, The Washington Post, and The Millions. Most of these pieces have not been published before. Featured performers include: A deluded Lothario, a man obsessed with corn, Charlie Watts, the dude from Def Leppard, and a sweet old lady who meets her untimely end at a Boston Market.

©2014 Mike Heppner (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Heppner does a very rare thing - he captures delicate human moments without being precious. Floating like dust in afternoon sunlight, his scenes are illuminated bits of life made strangely beautiful and poignant by his storytelling. Bound together by self-effacing humor, his work is deeply-affecting and well-observed. This collection of short stories murders everything but the undeniable throb of life and love." (Zaron Burnett III, author of How Do I Survive This Sh*t? and Love, Sex and Other Things You Might Find at the Airport)

A Surprisingly good collection of short stories

These are some very accesible and relatively meatty short stories essays. I was impressed with Heppner's observation of culture (a washed up 80s band at a state fair; music videos) and his ability to really capture our times. Sadly many of the stories i did not fully apreciate (or understand what he was trying to do until near the end of some of the work). I will definitely be listening to these stories again. A great buy.