The kid is sent out to find food for his starving family.

(from The Paris Review, 188)

But who, or what, is the kid? He’s a shapeshifter maybe, sometimes small enough to be carried like a football, other times big enough to be mistaken for a farmhand. Weird thing is, it’s not just his shape — he becomes other people, suddenly looks like specific people and seems to know things the original would know. There’s probably no chance of making sense of the sci-fi elements. As a freaky little adventure tragedy, it’s easy to grasp. Really enjoyed this one.
Jesse Ball was interviewed by Bookslut in February, and he talks about Plainface a little. I wonder if this is the same Jesse Ball.