Author uses dark humor to show the struggles of real life

The characters in Alissa Nutting's debut short story collection, "Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls," hold some interesting jobs, even if Nutting's definition of "job" is more inclusive -- and, maybe weirder -- than most people's definition of the word.

Delivery person. A porn star hired to have sex on the moon for a reality show. A woman in hell after a murder-suicide who couples with the devil. And a woman inside a boiling kettle who's waiting to be -- that's right: waiting to be -- dinner.

Obviously, "Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls" (Starcherone Books, $18) is a book that those with, perhaps, more mainstream senses of humor may not fully appreciate. But for readers who enjoy a bit of dark humor, it may be the perfect stocking stuffer.

Each story in the collection revolves around "a different job that a woman or a girl has," explains Nutting, who's working toward a doctorate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and is fiction editor for the Black Mountain Institute's literary magazine. "Some of them are straightforward and actually are jobs, like 'delivery woman.' But some of them are cheeky."

Collectively, the stories "acknowledge the fact that there are social roles that can be jobs, or even stereotypes can be jobs," Nutting says. "Fulfilling expectations, or not fulfilling expectations, sometimes can be a job."

The collection hit the shelves in October and includes 18 stories published in various places over the past five years.

"I have a lot of stories I would have loved to include, but they just weren't in the family," Nutting says. "It was kind of very obvious when I got them all together who should be invited to the reunion.

"But it's mainly about failure. The characters are all very sympathetic but very pathetic, and they struggle through life in very, kind of humorous and hyperbolized ways."

Yet, they're also "very, very real," Nutting says. "There are all these emotions that everyone feels. There's just kind of a sense of vulnerability and a sense of not being in control and a sense of knowing that you want something that you cannot have. Those are the kind of themes that flow throughout the book."

Nutting adds that she didn't set out to write stories that hew to any particular theme. But, she says, "I believe every author has a specific fingerprint or shadow where, no matter how much you consciously try to write about something else, your most painful moments or memories keep recurring whether you want them to or not.

"I'll sit down and say, 'I'm not going to write a story about unhappiness or death,' and I'll send it out to a publisher, and an editor will call and say, 'I love your stories; I love stories about unhappiness and death,' and you're like, 'Oh geez ...' "

Nutting -- who, it must be noted, actually is very upbeat and very funny and very charming -- says that, as a kid, "stories with happy endings always made me feel very lonely and sad. I'd say, 'Why isn't my life like that?' I would attempt to compare myself and inevitably come up short."

So, Nutting had a inclination toward Tolstoy and Kafka and Dostoevsky to, she says, "say, 'Hey, I'm not the only one. There are other people who have these feelings.'

"So I really like writing about characters who aren't making it and who never will and who society ignores and who no one would want to be, and find ways to make their experiences interesting."

Nutting was born in a small town in Michigan "accidentally," she says, to parents who "had already raised their family."

"So, my parents were very tired," Nutting jokes.

"Stories were really kind of something I did to entertain myself. And later, as I grew up and went to school, I realized that if I lied to kids and told them these outrageous stories, they'd laugh, and I'd get attention. They thought I had a very interesting existence that I didn't have."

That, Nutting adds, is "kind of how it began, really, working with narrative."

After earning a bachelor's degree, "I didn't quite know what I wanted to do," Nutting says. "I was thinking about law and all these very practical, lucrative careers, and I went to work in an office job. And that was when I realized I had to surround myself with art and writing and writers."

Nutting is working on her first novel, "about a teenage girl who ends up having to give birth to the ghost of her father."

In 2008, Nutting came to UNLV, where she is a Cobain fellow in fiction, because she liked the writing program here. But, since arriving, Nutting also has become a huge fan of Las Vegas.

"I absolutely love Las Vegas," she says. "I adore it. To me, it's just one of the most magical places on Earth.

"I remember within about 15 minutes of being here, I saw a fully painted Cirque du Soleil member out in the back of a casino talking on his cell phone and smoking a cigarette. Then we went into the casino and there was a woman with a 12-pack of Pepsi at a slot machine smoking, with an oxygen tank.

"I really like to examine and write about extremes, and I think Las Vegas is one of the most extreme places in America, and so diverse. You can live here and have a suburban experience or have just a completely wild, make-believe, lavish lifestyle as well. I love it."

Here are some other recently published books by Southern Nevada authors or which involve local themes.

"A Ballad for Allison Porter" (Aslan Publishing, $19.95), the first novel by College of Southern Nevada psychology professor Gary Solomon, is about a reporter attempting to unravel the story of a soon-to-be-executed murderess.

"Bloodsucking Vegas: A Vampire Noir" (CreateSpace, $8.99) by J.J. Wylie is a racy tale about a nomadic vampire who visits Las Vegas.

"A Call to Duty" (AuthorHouse, $14.49) is the final book in Las Vegan William Post's James Raymond Western adventure trilogy.

"Captain Cooked" (Addison & Highsmith Publishers, $16.95) by S.P. Grogan is a food and travel murder mystery that includes recipes from Hawaiian chefs and the chance for readers to use clues in the book to find, and redeem for a cash prize, a Hawaiian war club.

"Cave Rock: Climbers, Courts and a Washoe Indian Sacred Place" ($24.95, University of Nevada Press) by Matthew S. Makley and Michael J. Makley explores a dispute between Nevada's Washoe tribe and a group that turned a sacred Washoe site on the shore of Lake Tahoe into a world-class rock-climbing site.

"Cities and Nature in the American West" (University of Nevada Press, $34.95) is an anthology about how cities have shaped the West and vice versa. Many of the contributors acknowledge the work of late UNLV historian Hal K. Rothman, to whom the book is dedicated.

"Control Your Cash: Making Money Make Sense" (Mill City Press Inc., $17.95) by Greg McFarlane and Betty Kincaid is an easy-to-understand financial primer designed for people in their 20s and 30s who know nothing about money.

"Dark Prophecy" (Dutton, $26.95) is the second book in "CSI" creator Anthony E. Zuiker's "Level 26" trilogy. This one finds a now-retired Steve Dark pursuing a serial killer whom the press has dubbed the "tarot card killer."

"Dead Neon: Tales of Near-Future Las Vegas" (University of Nevada Press, $20) offers up sci-fi flavored visions of Las Vegas' future via 14 stories written by a roster of writers that includes Vu Tran and Felicia Campbell.

"Delmonico: The Life and Times of Kinson Denton" (Rosedog Books, $13) by Las Vegan Vincent Kethen is a story about an African-American family living in a North Las Vegas neighborhood during the late '70s and early '80s.

"The Devil's Dance" (L&L Dreamspell, $15.95) is the first book in Arliss Adams' series about an aspiring ballet dancer whose once-promising life takes a devastating turn.

"The Devil's Due" (L&L Dreamspell, $15.95), the second book in Arliss Adams' series, focuses on the young woman's battle with evil and some really vindictive family members.

"A Dubious Mission" (iUniverse, $27.95) by Gerald J. Kubicki is a historical mystery about a businessman, a white supremacy group and a World War II Nazi plot.

"Eating Las Vegas: The 50 Essential Restaurants" (Huntington Press, $12.95) offers Las Vegas' top dining experiences as voted on by food critics John Curtas, Max Jacobson and Al Mancini.

"Eyes of Integrity: The Porn Pandemic and How It Affects You" (Baker Books, $15.99) by Craig Gross, founder of XXXchurch.com and The Strip Church in Las Vegas, and Jason Harper offers advice to those struggling with pornography or sexual addiction.

"Friendly Fallout 1953" (University of Nevada Press, $24.95) by University of Nevada, Reno English professor emeritus Ann Ronald combines the actual history of atomic tests in Nevada with fictional vignettes that explore their effect on participants and civilian downwinders.

"The Good Thief's Guide to Vegas" (Minotaur Books, $24.99) by Chris Ewan follows part-time crime writer/part-time thief Charlie Howard to Las Vegas, where he receives a particularly surprising job offer.

"It's a Sweet Life: A Collection of Desserts by Megan Romano" (Megan Romano, $40) is the Las Vegas pastry chef's first published collection of cakes, cookies, chocolates and other sweets.

"Last Leaf From a Wishing Tree" (Black Rose Writing, $18.95) is a love story, and a first novel, from author Linc Dante.

"The League of Freaks and the Secret Key" (CreateSpace, $10.95) by Alberto Hazan is a young adult contemporary fantasy about a girl who discovers that she and four of her friends have secret powers and their search for an ancient treasure.

"Lucky Luciano: The Rise and Fall of a Mob Boss" (McFarland & Co., $39.95) includes William Donati's new research into the gangster's life, arrest and conviction. Donati teaches English at UNLV.

"Magic's Most Amazing Stories" (Eclipse, $24.95) by Ivan Amodei counts among its roster of magical tale-tellers Las Vegas mainstay Mac King.

"The Making of Modern Nevada" (University of Nevada Press, $21.95) by Hal K. Rothman is among the final works of the late UNLV historian. In it, Rothman explores the evolution and growth of the state and of Las Vegas.

"My Friend Nick the Greek: Life in Las Vegas in the 50s" (WingSpan Press, $12.95) is former Las Vegas dancer Elaine Campbell's memoir of her friendship with the noted gambler.

"My Week at the Blue Angel and Other Stories From the Storm Drains, Strip Clubs and Trailer Parks of Las Vegas" (Huntington Press, $14.95) is a collection of offbeat and off-the-beaten-path "creative-nonfiction" pieces by Matthew O'Brien, with photos by Bill Hughes.

"Paul Morphy: Confederate Spy" (Three Towers Press, $18.95) by Stan Vaughan is a novel that positions the chess champion as a member of the Confederate Secret Service.

"Potpourri For and About Women" (AuthorHouse, $29.95) is JoAnn Oppenheimer's compilation of short stories in which 41 women discuss the changes and challenges they've faced in their lives.

"Powertake: Get What You Want Without Hurting Others" (iUniverse, $24.95) by Southern Nevada psychologist Jack Rosenfeld offers easy-to-follow lessons in using the power we have to get what we seek.

"Rock Hard, Rock Long" (iUniverse, $17.95) by Tony Nicholas is a novel about a heavy metal musician's experiences from the '70s through the '90s.

"Soccerland" (Marshall Cavendish Children's Books, $16.99) by Beth Choat is about a young girl's aspirtations of winning a spot on the U.S. women's national soccer team.

"The Take" (L&L Dreamspell, $12.95) by Mike Dennis is a noirish crime novel about a small-time bookie who gets in over his head and goes on the run to New Orleans' French Quarter.

"That Old Black Magic: Louis Prima, Keely Smith and the Golden Age of Las Vegas" (Chicago Review Press, $24.95) by Tom Clavin is a biography about Prima, Smith and the halcyon days of the Las Vegas lounge.

"Trackers" (CreateSpace, $16.99) by Dan Purkey is a thriller about a private detective who stumbles onto a covert undertaking that involves a secret agency and tracking devices implanted into every person on the planet.

"Tungsten in Peace and War, 1918-1946" (University of Nevada Press, $44.95) by Ronald H. Limbaugh includes sections about the role Nevada and Nevada companies played in the history of tungsten.

"Water Politics in Northern Nevada: A Century of Struggle" (University of Nevada Press, $21.95) by Leah J. Wilds, an associate professor of political science at UNR, explores the construction and consequences of the Newlands Project, which sought to use the Carson and Truckee rivers to irrigate a half-million acres of land in Washoe and Churchill counties.

"Within Ten Days" (Kenneth W. Harris, $19.95) is Ken Harris' novel about a man who finds himself embroiled in conspiracy, money laundering, bribery, drugs and murder.

Contact reporter John Przybys at jprzybys@reviewjournal. com or 702-383-0280.