McSweeney's Issue 18 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern)
by Dave Eggers
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 190)
Read in August, 2007
Despite the fatiguing effect of the ever-present "we" and present tense used in most things McSweeney, I still enjoy reading the shorts. This collection, which came with the delightful Wolphin #1 (check out "The Delicious" PLEASE), is the usual assortment of eccentric and poetic prose with the occasional reference to NPR programming (it's an incestuous group, no?) in the mix.
Here's a quick rundown with my preferences:
"The Stepfather" by Chris Adrian
Sort o...more
Here's a quick rundown with my preferences:
"The Stepfather" by Chris Adrian
Sort o...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Moody by:
Timothyrecommends it for: Anyone who loves short stories.
If you have, through some terrible oversight or tragic turn of events, never considered getting a subscription to McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, may I heartily suggest to you this very moment that it is more than a merely good idea, and that it is in fact (and not merely in verisimilitude) one of the best ideas...more
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Read in March, 2008
This was my first McSweeney's and I thought it was a great place to start. There were some wonderful standouts like Chris Adrian's "The Stepfather" (a smartly written satire of the Bush presidency), Adam Levin's "Hot Pink", Joe Meno's "People are becoming clouds" and Joyce Carol Oates's "Bad Habits". Edmund White's "My Hustlers" was a real low point as it confused descriptions of an alternative sexual lifestyle with interesting story and Alan Ack...more
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Read in April, 2008
took me FOREVER to finish. i got stuck on adam levin's hot pink, which then wound up being my favorites. i stammered and stalled my way through the second half, eyeing my copy of the corrections (which i am holding on to for the next reading drought). i loved joe meno's story about the wife who turns into a cloud. it made me think of all the things i loved about the boy detctive fails, which i read exactly this time last year. if i didn't have so many other books on deck, i'd re-read it.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
I really enjoyed the first story in this collection. There were a couple others here and there I could get into. Some I found utterly pointless. What are ya gonna do? You can't please everyone. Nonetheless, I've never been able to get into Joyce Carol Oates' short stories before, and I actually liked her story in here, so maybe I'll try a novel and see what all the hype is about... Overall, it is an okay collection... maybe I'm just not into stories that go essentially nowhere.
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This one has some good stories in it. I particularly remember one that I think was called "Hot Pink" or something like that. It was just about some guys walking around a city, it might have been Chicago. I remember someone carrying a bag of oranges. I obviously don't remember it "particularly" well, like I said. It was a good story, whatever it was called.
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recommends it for:
everyone who likes a solid collection of short stories.
Issue 18 is one of my favorite McSweeney's collections. The book itself isn't too design heavy, just a soft front and back cover with a few solid short stories in between. For a few of the authors featured it's their first time in print. Other authors (Joyce Carol Oates, Roddy Doyle, etc.) are more familiar. Either way all the stories are satisfying.
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Although I enjoyed many of the stories in this issue, overall I did not find this crop as wonderful as other McSweeney's pieces I have read. I liked "The Stepfather" by Chris Adrien, "New Boy" by Roddy Doyle, "My Hustlers" by Edmund White, "Happiness Reminders" by Rachel Haley Himmelheber, and "People Are Becoming Clouds" by Joe Meno.
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Read in March, 2008
The usual mix of inventive and wearisome. Though it maybe devalued Egan's "The General" as a beautifully satirical story about the later career about a third world dictator, I dug Daniel Orozco's "Somoza's Dream." Joe Meno's "People Are Becoming Clouds" seems like it'll stick, too. Others, who knows?
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Read in February, 2008
What a fantastic gathering of short stories - inventive, creative, and truly lovely writing. In a publishing world full of not so very good writing, and accented with less than innovative or interesting plots, McSweeney's Issue 18 highlights some fo the very best talent.
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Great collections of short stories...this is the mcsweeney's issue that grabbed me...two stories, people are becoming clouds and deb olin unferth...first one is tender with great imagery and deb olin unferth just makes you feel good about yourself and makes me laugh...
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Read in August, 2007
Every issue of McSweeney's takes me forever to get though - in a good way. This was not the best issue, I'm afraid. A handful of good stories, even more okay stories. Nothing really sucked per se, but nothing made me want to shout it from the highest hill.
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Read in May, 2008
Some really excellent short fiction here, particularly Chris Adrian's "The Stepfather", "Hot Pink", "My Hustlers", and "Bad Habits". "The Railroad Nurse" tantalized with a nice twist and loss of context, but barely did anything with its excellent setup.
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Read in July, 2008
An amazing collection of short stories. It makes me want to pay too much to get a McSweeney's subscription.
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Read in September, 2007
Great Publisher!!
Must Read - 1
Meaningful - 1
Must Read - 1
Meaningful - 1
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