Hooboy. I have fallen further and further behind. I had one of those Alice Munro stories open on a tab at work for a while, but I only got through about half of it; work blew up on me. I will come back to it and others; I want to read them.
In the meantime, there’s always The New Yorker in my bathroom, so.
57. "Elliott Spencer," George Saunders, in The New Yorker (2019)
In the first few lines I thought this story would be gimmicky and tedious, with its fractured syntax and oddly italicized words; I did not expect to get very far. To my surprise, it sucked me in, and turned out to be very effective and affecting. It’s from the confused perspective of a man who has been brainwashed and is learning his new role in the world. I can’t really say more about it than that without getting into a lot of details. Very interesting stories. Incidentally, George Saunders is the author of Lincoln in the Bardo, which I haven’t read.
_______________________
Goal for 2019: 100 short stories
Favorites of the year:
1. “Children Are Bored on Sunday,” Jean Stafford, in The New Yorker (1948)
9. “William Wilson,” Edgar Allen Poe, in Tales of Mystery and Imagination
12. “The Good Deaths, Part II,” Angela Ambroz, in Beneath Ceaseless Skies (2014)
24. "A whale, a tree, a vine," Sarah Norek, in West Branch (2018)
28. “American Gothic,” Dan Moreau, in Third Coast (2018)
31. “Cut,” Catherine Lacey, in The New Yorker (2019)
51. "The Sinkhole," Joyce Li, in Brooklyn Review (2018)
52. "Paper House," Stefan Kiesbye, in Delay (2019)
54. "Cruel and Barbarous Treatment," Mary McCarthy, in The Company She Keeps (1942)
My list of stories from the first half of the year is here.
In the meantime, there’s always The New Yorker in my bathroom, so.
57. "Elliott Spencer," George Saunders, in The New Yorker (2019)
In the first few lines I thought this story would be gimmicky and tedious, with its fractured syntax and oddly italicized words; I did not expect to get very far. To my surprise, it sucked me in, and turned out to be very effective and affecting. It’s from the confused perspective of a man who has been brainwashed and is learning his new role in the world. I can’t really say more about it than that without getting into a lot of details. Very interesting stories. Incidentally, George Saunders is the author of Lincoln in the Bardo, which I haven’t read.
_______________________
Goal for 2019: 100 short stories
Favorites of the year:
1. “Children Are Bored on Sunday,” Jean Stafford, in The New Yorker (1948)
9. “William Wilson,” Edgar Allen Poe, in Tales of Mystery and Imagination
12. “The Good Deaths, Part II,” Angela Ambroz, in Beneath Ceaseless Skies (2014)
24. "A whale, a tree, a vine," Sarah Norek, in West Branch (2018)
28. “American Gothic,” Dan Moreau, in Third Coast (2018)
31. “Cut,” Catherine Lacey, in The New Yorker (2019)
51. "The Sinkhole," Joyce Li, in Brooklyn Review (2018)
52. "Paper House," Stefan Kiesbye, in Delay (2019)
54. "Cruel and Barbarous Treatment," Mary McCarthy, in The Company She Keeps (1942)
My list of stories from the first half of the year is here.