I Left Harry's All-Night Hamburgers (2013)
a day ago
- #parallel worlds
- #science fiction
- #coming of age
- The narrator works at Harry's All-Night Hamburgers in Sutton, West Virginia, a remote diner that becomes a hub for interdimensional travelers due to its location being a stable point across parallel worlds.
- He encounters bizarre customers, including a heavily bundled man and three topless women, and learns from them about infinite parallel universes where every possible event occurs, and travelers can never return to their exact home world.
- Inspired by travelers' stories of wonders, the narrator considers leaving with a traveler named Sid, but another traveler, Joe, convinces him to explore Earth's own marvels first, emphasizing he can always return to Harry's for an interdimensional ride later.
- The narrator leaves his job and West Virginia with Joe, who drives him to Pittsburgh, starting his journey to see real-world wonders like New York, Machu Picchu, and space shuttle launches, while realizing the value of being able to return home.