Pops and Clicks

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 9 stories examine modern relationships, from parents and siblings to strangers and lovers, revealing the complex and mysterious ways our lives intersect.