McSweeney's Issue 38

McSweeney's Quarterly Concern Issue 38

Another fantastic issue. This quarter they go back to a basic book with the cover art designed by Jessica Hische that has a great retro look & texture. My only complaint is that they included the Jungle as an insert between pages 192 & 193 which created this awkward gap while the book was open. I would have preferred the cartoon just be part of the book instead of being a distraction as I read. The return of the letters section these last few issues has been a nice lighthearted way to start things off. After that the issue included;

Where He Fell by Ariel Dorfman
Great story about an artist in Paris doing an art instillation on the anniversary of a family tragedy. There is a lot going on in story and the author does a great job weaving it all into a compact space.

The Special Populations Unit by Chanan Tigay
This quarters obligatory anti war peace/minorities are treated like shit is about Arabs fighting for Israel while at the same time being discriminated against by the Israeli people. Hipsters everywhere are gleefully weeping at the irony. Seriously shitty situation though and I feel for them.

The Northeast Kingdom by Nathaniel Rich
Loved this story about a man who is in great health as he ages into his 100's. Everyone is trying to get his secret of longevity including shady family members. One of the best short stories in this issue.

The Hens by Roddy Doyle
Who but Roddy Doyle could write about a Polish immigrant working in Dublin for a crazy woman feuding with her neighbors over chickens. There were other stuff being feuded over but mostly it was over chickens chickens. Hilarious story & spoiler alert, there's an awesome housewife knife fight!

Rapunzel by Steven Millhauser
Millhouser's take on Rapunzel. He's definitely one of my favorite short story authors. Despite this one being relatively tame his imagination is ridiculous. So fun to read.

The Jungle by Jack Teagle
This is the previously mentioned comic insert about a man and a cat living in the "wild" Good addition to the issue despite being the annoying insert as the comic was funny and well written. Not my favorite style of art but works telling the story.

Cred by Adam Levin
Hilarious 2 page short story about a man obsessing about the fact that his girlfriend looks like she has a bulge above her groin in pants but does not in fact have a bulge sans pants.

Of Women and Frogs by Bisi Adjapon
Another strong story. This is great little story about about a young African girl of 9 then 11 trying to figure life out in a bad home life. Her dad is a womanizer, her mom left when she was really young and her so called aunts are abusive even though she doesn't understand that. Sad in a really good way and speaks eloquently about the challenges in growing up as a girl.

The JPEG by Rachel B. Glaser
I loved this story as well. Glaser's style reminds me of a slightly restrained Miranda July. The story is about a recent art graduate who is lost in the real world trying to connect to life through attempts at reconnecting with an ex boyfriend. I never though a passage about deleting contacts in your phone could be as powerful as it is in this story.

Talat Hamdani by Alia Malek
This oral history of a woman who lost a son on 9/11 only to see his name slandered as a potential terrorist when he was completely innocent. Even though the agenda pieces aren't my favorite reads it was interesting and my heart goes out to this family.

Chapter One by David Eggers
This is the first chapter of an upcoming book by Eggers and from what I can tell it will be about a lonely divorced man down on his luck with one last chance to salvage his life, prove to his daughter & himself that he still has value & maybe get some while he's in the middle east trying to land a big deal as a salesman and make lots of money so he can avoid foreclosure but he'll probably just fail and hipsters will rejoice along with the 99%.