This week’s story, “Maintenance, Hvidovre,” by Olga Ravn, is a Kafkaesque tale of a mother’s experience during her stay at the maternity ward of a suburban hospital in Hvidovre, Denmark. The story, told retrospectively from the unnamed first-person narrator, recounts the strange unfolding of events at the hospital during her stay–which entails the surreal disappearance…
Author: Colin
“The Plaza”
This week, I’m excited to provide some thoughts on “The Plaza,” by Rebecca Makkai, which appears in the May 8, 2023 issue of The New Yorker. “The Plaza” invokes the “rags to riches” master plot–but in a modern, ironic manner. The Cinderella of this story is Margie, a 23-year old waitress at a hotel bar…
“The Stuntman”
To formally kick off Litficiton, I’m excited to provide my thoughts on Rachel Cusk’s “The Stuntman,” which appears in the April 24 & May 1, 2023, double-issue of The New Yorker. “The Stuntman” is a long short story (approximately 10,000 words)–and admittedly a challenging read due to its modernist characteristics, including the highly abstract and…