Essays
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“Finistère”
Kevin Barry’s “Finistère,” featured in the April 15, 2024 edition of The New Yorker, follows the aftermath of fifty-five year old Cian John Wynn’s latest romantic breakup as he embarks on a self-imposed exile from Ireland, to start a new yet-to-be determined life in France. On the fifteen-hour ferry ride during which the narrative unfolds–and…
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“Bozo”
“Bozo,” by Souvankham Thammavongsa, is featured in the 8 April, 2024 issue of The New Yorker. Told from the perspective of unnamed, first-person female narrator–-the details of whose life we are told very little (more on this to follow)–-the story opens in a nondescript bar in a nondescript city as the narrator contemplates a male…
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“Allah Have Mercy”
Posted in the April 1, 2024 issue of The New Yorker, “Allah Have Mercy,” by Mohammed Naseehu Ali, is an exceptional story of a boy’s initiation into psychological and physical violence at the hands of a disciplinarian uncle. While occasionally it is difficult to think of something cogent to say about a newly published story,…
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”Maintenance, Hvidore”
“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 of her newborn…
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“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 in…
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“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 multivalent…