Tales of the Dusty Bucket: A Satire of Secondhand Americana

Summary

Most folks worldwide have visited a flea market, swap shop, or bazaar. Still, few take the time to get to know the variety of vendors peddling their lightly used or dubiously acquired inventory every weekend. At the Dusty Bucket, a self-described "androgynous pansexual with no more ambition nowadays than making a living as a flea market 'artist," sets up a table with their recently deceased mother's unremarkable collectibles. The booth neighbor sells discount cigarettes and has a tale of bluster for every occasion. High strangeness captures the narrator's attention, as well as that of market regulars with a penchant for seeing the supernatural where it probably doesn't exist. Then again, an apparent caveman does appear out of thin air, and the narrator senses a song-like vibration in their feet rather than hearing it. By the final tally, a misfit team of muddied merchants might be the world's only protection from an ancient existential threat. [Winner: 2024 International Impact Award for Best Humor Fiction]