Dangerous Laughter: 13 Stories

Dangerous Laughter: 13 Stories is a collection of short fiction by Steven Millhauser published in 2008 by Alfred A. Knopf.

Stories

Original publication periodicals and dates indicated:
Opening Cartoon

"Cat 'n' Mouse

Vanishing Acts

"The Disappearance of Elaine Coleman"
"The Room in the Attic"
"Dangerous Laughter"
"History of a Disturbance"

Impossible Architectures

"The Dome"
"In the Reign of Harad IV"
"The Other Town"
"The Tower"

Heretical Histories

"Here at the Historical Society"
"A Change in Fashion"
"A Precursor of the Cinema"
"The Wizard of West Orange"

Reception

New York Times literary critic D. T. Max notes the surreal qualities of the stories:
Max distinguishes Millhauser from postmodernist writers, locating his "mid-century prose" among the modernists" and adding "Millhauser's real subject is contemporary America" and as such, "not just brilliant but prescient."
Literary critic Ulin, David L. at the Los Angeles Times provides a thematic overview of the collection:

Retrospective appraisal

Literary critic and biographer Earl G. Ingersoll identifies the opening and closing stories—"Cat 'n' Mouse" and "The Wizard of West Orange"— as both historically and culturally significant "bookends" to the volume.