"As Is" is a lighthearted tale meant to amuse. It resembles stories by James Thurber, which often feature men confronted by magical apparitions like unicorns, but without the sense of persecution common to Thurber's work. A feature that elevates "As Is" above the ordinary is its structure, in which the comical collision of magic and the modern world is worked out from opposite directions, blending together at the conclusion. The main plot involves Sam Norton, and the comedy involves this thoroughly modern American—he is a computer salesman, after all—in events that defy rationality. His car's trunk is magical, and he learns to deal with its manifestations as he journeys across America.

This makes his journey not just a physical act but a spiritual passage as well; as he travels out of the familiar cold and wet of his home to the alien...