Gulp Fiction, or Into The Missouri-verse: On Percival Everett’s “James”
Can one tell Twain’s story from Jim’s perspective without creating a flimsy, second-hand imitation of Jim’s voice which dooms the experiment from the start?
Observer Effect: On Meghan O’Gieblyn’s “God Human Animal Machine”
The earth was not at all made to someday host plants, animals, or us. Life, in its tenacity, has just scratched out a little foothold. None of this is for us. Really: None of this is for anything at all.
The Stories We Tell About Ourselves: On CJ Hauser’s “The Crane Wife”
Your apartment is nice, but not amazing. You’re not struggling nor are you wealthy. Sometimes you regret not working harder. Other times, you regret not making more irresponsible choices. If traditionality is suffocating, living free is like treading water and trying not to sink.