The Magic Kingdom

Eddy Bale’s twelve-year-old son died after a terrible, drawn-out illness. Now, determined to help alleviate the suffering of other sick children, Eddy plans to take a group of seven terminally ill youths on a dream vacation to Disney World. Accompanied by four eccentric chaperones, Eddy and the kids embark on what is meant to be a magical retreat that quickly devolves into a series of disasters when the kids turn out to be more full of life than anyone expected.   Written with deadpan humor and poignancy, The Magic Kingdom is a striking and honest portrayal of life and death—and the trouble that ensues when one attempts to master either.   This ebook features rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate and from the Stanley Elkin archives at Washington University in St. Louis.

Max Apple

Mr. Elkin's language is always a surprise and a joy. Mr. Elkin tortures language the way fate usually tortures his characters, but Mr. Elkin is kinder than fate and more fruitful. He squeezes out new meanings....Even fiction, that familiar opener of eyes, rarely opens our eyes to the interior terrors. We are accustomed to metaphors of disease and decay. Mr. Elkin presents the real thing; not metaphors, kids. Novelists may X-ray the soul and the psyche, but we leave the body to technicians. Not Stanley Elkin. -- New York Times

Stanley Elkin (1930–1995) was an award-winning author of novels, short stories, and essays. Born in the Bronx, Elkin received his BA and PhD from the University of Illinois and in 1960 became a professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis where he taught until his death. His critically acclaimed works include the National Book Critics Circle Award–winners George Mills (1982) and Mrs. Ted Bliss (1995), as well as the National Book Award finalists The Dick Gibson Show (1972), Searches and Seizures (1974), and The MacGuffin (1991). His book of novellas, Van Gogh’s Room at Arles, was a finalist for the PEN Faulkner Award.