Thirty-six cities. Thirty-six stories of obsession. From ancient Thebes to present day Berlin, these little portraits of humans superimposed on their suburban environment are corroding treats thrown together in a past-modern beaker, landmark tales of love in the metropolis. A round-the-world tour of craving and decadence.

* Cover Photograph by John Connell

Other Acclaim:

“Off beat, compelling, intricate: an urban jigsaw puzzle.”

—Ben Peek, author of Twenty-Six Lies/One Truth

“With delicate minimalism and poignant specificity, Metrophilias demonstrates the human contagions that come with our increasingly urban life. When they get around to mapping the literary sky of the 21st century, I'm betting that Brendan Connell's star will shine very brightly, indeed.”

—Lucius Shepard, author of Life During Wartime

“Every generation throws up a few genuine Masters of the Weird. There simply is no hyperbole in the statement that Brendan Connell is a member of this elite group right now, perhaps the most accomplished of them all.”

—Rhys Hughes, author of A New Universal History of Infamy

“A subtly deranged, obliquely beautiful oddity.”
—The Fright Site

About the Author

Brendan Connell was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1970. He has had fiction published in numerous places, including McSweeney’s, Adbusters, Fast Ships, Black Sails (Nightshade Books 2008), and the World Fantasy Award winning anthologies Leviathan 3 (The Ministry of Whimsy 2002), and Strange Tales (Tartarus Press 2003). His published books are: The Translation of Father Torturo (Prime Books, 2005), Dr. Black and the Guerrillia (Grafitisk Press, 2005), and Unpleasant Tales (Eibonvale Press, 2010).

Acknowledgments:

• “Benares” was originally published in TEL: Stories (Wheatland Press, 2005)


• “Carthage” was originally published in The Deconstruction Quarterly (2005) and subsequently in Pequin (2008)


• “Dublin” was originally published in The Sink (2005) and subsequently in The Orphan Leaf Review (2005)


• “Florence” was originally published in a version called “Rood” in See You Next Tuesday (Better Non Sequitur, 2008)


• “Gwangju” was originally published in a version called “Radix” in Scared Naked Magazine (2002) and subsequently in Pequin (2007)


• “Havana” was originally published in a version called “Pursuit of the Whole” in House of Pain (2001)


• “Jerusalem” and “Kiev” were originally published in The Literary Bone (2007)


• “Kinshasa” was originally published in Scared Naked Magazine (2004)


• “London” was originally published in Black Petals (2007)


• “Luxembourg” was originally published in Fandango (2005)


• “Moscow” was originally published in Idiot’s Manifesto (2005)


• “Mexico City” and “Paris” were originally published in Fandango (2005)


• “New York,” “Tokyo,” and “Thebes” were originally published in a French translation in Le Fantastique de Fétichistes (Le Calepin Jaune Editions, 2008)


• “Oslo” was originally published in a version called “Pits” in See You Next Tuesday (Better Non Sequitur, 2006)


• “Rome” was originally published in Kaleidotrope (2008)


• “Seville” was originally published in Spinning Whorl (2007)


• “Vancouver” was originally published in a version called “The Despoiler” in Lethologica (2000) and subsequently in Fantastic Metropolis (2001)


• “Warsaw” was originally published in a version called “Spearhead” in Devil Blossoms (2001)


• “Zürich” originally appeared as “Chemistry” in Scattered, Covered, Smothered (Two Cranes Press 2004)