Hi, Rachel--I read Ghost Pains this summer. While some of the stories seemed unfocused or unfinished, the good stuff is really good: inventive, funny, and unpredictable. I'm eager to see what Stevens writes next.
Also, Han Ong has a story in a recent New Yorker that I just loved; here is a link:
I was reading Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! at the same time, and it was interesting to see how the texts, both about making (art, community, desire) and unmaking (addiction, desire again!) resonated with one another.
And George Saunders just wrapped up a discussion in his Story Club of "The Death of Ivan Ilych"; I hadn't read any Tolstoy since struggling with Anna Karenina in high school, and "Ilyich" is full of wonderful surprises.
Unpredictability is maybe one of my favorite things in a story. I read "Ming" recently (2/22) and loved it too!! How serendipitous that you read it alongside Martyr! Thanks for the nudge to revisit "The Death of Ivan Ilych" (I read it a long, long time ago and remember thinking it was good, but what did I know...)
Thank you for the story, Rachel. I haven’t read anything from Jessi Stevens. So, excited to read this one!
Few stores I read last month:
1. Blind by Mary Borden. Excellent story. She was a war nurse. So the story is probably autobiographical.
2. The Last Rung on the Ladder by Stephen King
3. Vows by David Means. I found the non-linear structure of the story very very interesting.
4. The Frog King by Garth Greenwell. Absolutely loved this story!
5. Couple of recent New yorker stories: “Keuka Lake” by Joseph O’Neill and “Five Bridges” by Colm Tóibín. It’s amazing how quickly Colm Tóibín had written a story about immigration, deportation, and published it. (Yet to read the latest Yiyun Li story.)
I also revisited some classic stories last month:
1. Cathedral by Raymond Carver (Learnt that it was based on a real-life incident and his wife Tess Gallagher had also written her version of the incident, titled “Rain Flooding Your Campfire.” I haven’t read this one yet.)
2. The Swimmer by Cheever. I was amazed to notice this line this time: “Neddy Merrill sat by the green water, one hand in it, one around a glass of gin.” It directly links the pool with the alcohol (both liquid) in his hand in one sentence.
3. The Sisters by James Joyce. Later I was reading about the story, and went down the rabbit hole of Catholicism, paralysis, and syphilis…
Hi, Rachel--I read Ghost Pains this summer. While some of the stories seemed unfocused or unfinished, the good stuff is really good: inventive, funny, and unpredictable. I'm eager to see what Stevens writes next.
Also, Han Ong has a story in a recent New Yorker that I just loved; here is a link:
newyorker.com/magazine/2025/01/20/ming-fiction-han-ong
I was reading Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! at the same time, and it was interesting to see how the texts, both about making (art, community, desire) and unmaking (addiction, desire again!) resonated with one another.
And George Saunders just wrapped up a discussion in his Story Club of "The Death of Ivan Ilych"; I hadn't read any Tolstoy since struggling with Anna Karenina in high school, and "Ilyich" is full of wonderful surprises.
Unpredictability is maybe one of my favorite things in a story. I read "Ming" recently (2/22) and loved it too!! How serendipitous that you read it alongside Martyr! Thanks for the nudge to revisit "The Death of Ivan Ilych" (I read it a long, long time ago and remember thinking it was good, but what did I know...)
aww yay!
this is great : )
Thank you for the story, Rachel. I haven’t read anything from Jessi Stevens. So, excited to read this one!
Few stores I read last month:
1. Blind by Mary Borden. Excellent story. She was a war nurse. So the story is probably autobiographical.
2. The Last Rung on the Ladder by Stephen King
3. Vows by David Means. I found the non-linear structure of the story very very interesting.
4. The Frog King by Garth Greenwell. Absolutely loved this story!
5. Couple of recent New yorker stories: “Keuka Lake” by Joseph O’Neill and “Five Bridges” by Colm Tóibín. It’s amazing how quickly Colm Tóibín had written a story about immigration, deportation, and published it. (Yet to read the latest Yiyun Li story.)
I also revisited some classic stories last month:
1. Cathedral by Raymond Carver (Learnt that it was based on a real-life incident and his wife Tess Gallagher had also written her version of the incident, titled “Rain Flooding Your Campfire.” I haven’t read this one yet.)
2. The Swimmer by Cheever. I was amazed to notice this line this time: “Neddy Merrill sat by the green water, one hand in it, one around a glass of gin.” It directly links the pool with the alcohol (both liquid) in his hand in one sentence.
3. The Sisters by James Joyce. Later I was reading about the story, and went down the rabbit hole of Catholicism, paralysis, and syphilis…
“Rumple” was a wild, wild wide! Just the distraction I needed :)
🙏🏻