Pops and Clicks: Stories

POPS AND CLICKS is Matthew Allard’s second story collection. In “When We Are Giraffes,” a lovable graphic artist, battling mental illness, finds comfort and tests the fragile limits of his marriage after purchasing a giraffe outfit from the Home Shopping Channel. In “Love Machine,” a nameless protagonist constructs an elaborate device in hopes of making his crush feel the same way. And in “Everyone Here Is Happy,” a teenager explores the ripe edge of adulthood while struggling to connect with her astronaut father who lives—quite literally—in another world. Thoughtful, funny, and surreal, these nine stories examine modern relationships, from parents and siblings to strangers and lovers, revealing the complex and mysterious ways our lives intersect.