Incidents of Egotourism in the Temporary World is a mix of travelogues, dialogues, and narrative essays about finding the unexpected in familiar places. A frustrated shipper of rare books at a Boston bookstore (who refers to himself as “The Egotourist”) returns to his parents’ suburban New Jersey home to work temporary jobs and earn enough money to take a hundred buses to Cuzco, Peru. Alternating among essays, dialogues, and short spiels, Incidents of Egotourism in the Temporary World rolls with the Egotourist’s restlessness as he tells of long-distance love, Black Sabbath cover bands, flirtatious administrative assistants, minotauric secretaries, and camaraderie in copy centers, all of it heading toward a hard-earned trip south of the border. Ultimately, the Egotourist discovers that what he sought in far-flung destinations is just as easily found in the unexpected exoticism of home.
Published in 2004 by San Diego-based Better Non Sequitur (many thanks to Steven Coy), Incidents has found some readers over the years. You can read some reviews here.
Of the limited print run of 250 copies, I have a handful of essentially new copies from my private stock available for $19.99 (including shipping) via PayPal or Venmo (@leeklein).
A PDF is also available for free download.
Cover art by my mom.