In the wake of the tech invasion in the Bay Area, in transient hotels and in rent-controlled buildings, the residents try to hold on in the city at the edge of the world. In these stories, Daphne Gottlieb chronicles inner and outer worlds both real and surreal. A hurricane farm. A cat burglar who can't remember where he is. A woman whose dog levitates. Heartrending and darkly magical, Pretty Much Dead is part fable, part witness, and part chorus with the voices that are only heard when they start to yell.