That collection features a story told from the perspective of a sperm, "Night-Sea Journey," while the titular story centers on the brothers Ambrose and Peter, both of whom are attracted to their neighbor Magda.  
One collection by this author opens with instructions to the reader to form a mobius strip that produces an infinitely long story through the phrases "Once upon a time" and "There was a story that began."  That collection features a story told from the perspective of a sperm, "Night-Sea Journey," while the titular story centers on the brothers Ambrose and Peter, both of whom are attracted to their neighbor Magda.  He wrote three novellas about Scheherazade, Perseus, and Bellorophon titled (*) Chimera, and he told of Jacob Horner's psychological problems in The End of the Road.  This author of the collection Lost in the Funhouse is better known for a novel in which Ebeneezer Cooke becomes poet laureate of Maryland and another about George Giles's rise through the ranks of academia.  For 10 points, name this American author of The Sot-Weed Factor and Giles Goat-Boy.
One collection by this author opens with instructions to the reader to form a mobius strip that produces an infinitely long story through the phrases "Once upon a time" and "There was a story that began."  
John {Barth}