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Bestial Noise: The Tin House Fiction Reader
From the award-winning literary magazine Tin House comes an indispensable collection of established and emerging fiction stars.
In just four short years Tin House has established itself as the most eclectic, exciting, and popular literary magazine in America today-writings from its pages have already been honored in Best American Stories, Best American Essays, Best American Poetry, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Bestial Noise is the first collection of Tin House fiction, showcasing today's masters of the short form-David Foster Wallace, Amy Hempel, Mary Gaitskill, Ron Carlson, Jim Shepard, Helen Schulman, Jonathan Lethem, and Lydia Davis, along with Tin House discoveries David Schickler, Nancy Reisman, and Julie Benesh. These extraordinary, vital stories are a primer for the current state of cutting-edge fiction and confirm why the Village Voice declared that ' Tin House may very well represent the future of literary magazines.'
In just four short years Tin House has established itself as the most eclectic, exciting, and popular literary magazine in America today-writings from its pages have already been honored in Best American Stories, Best American Essays, Best American Poetry, Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Bestial Noise is the first collection of Tin House fiction, showcasing today's masters of the short form-David Foster Wallace, Amy Hempel, Mary Gaitskill, Ron Carlson, Jim Shepard, Helen Schulman, Jonathan Lethem, and Lydia Davis, along with Tin House discoveries David Schickler, Nancy Reisman, and Julie Benesh. These extraordinary, vital stories are a primer for the current state of cutting-edge fiction and confirm why the Village Voice declared that ' Tin House may very well represent the future of literary magazines.'
382 pages, Paperback
First published April 3, 2003
About the author
Win McCormack
100 books11 followersWin McCormack is an American publisher and editor from Oregon.
He is editor-in-chief of Tin House magazine and Tin House Books, the former publisher of Oregon Magazine, and founder and treasurer of MediAmerica, Inc. He serves on the board of directors of the journal New Perspectives Quarterly. His political and social writings have appeared in Oregon Humanities, Tin House, The Nation, The Oregonian, and Oregon Magazine. McCormack's investigative coverage of the Rajneeshee movement was awarded a William Allen White Commendation from the University of Kansas and the City and Regional Magazine Association. His latest book, You Don’t Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values, examines the sex scandals of Republican politicians who espouse "moral values."
As a political activist, McCormack served as Chair of the Oregon Steering Committee for Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign. He is chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon's President's Council and a member of the Obama for President Oregon Finance Committee. McCormack was also chosen as Alternate Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He currently serves on the Oregon Council for the Humanities and the Oregon Tourism Commission. Additionally, McCormack sits on the Board of Overseers for Emerson College, and is a co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Liberty Hill Foundation
He is editor-in-chief of Tin House magazine and Tin House Books, the former publisher of Oregon Magazine, and founder and treasurer of MediAmerica, Inc. He serves on the board of directors of the journal New Perspectives Quarterly. His political and social writings have appeared in Oregon Humanities, Tin House, The Nation, The Oregonian, and Oregon Magazine. McCormack's investigative coverage of the Rajneeshee movement was awarded a William Allen White Commendation from the University of Kansas and the City and Regional Magazine Association. His latest book, You Don’t Know Me: A Citizen's Guide to Republican Family Values, examines the sex scandals of Republican politicians who espouse "moral values."
As a political activist, McCormack served as Chair of the Oregon Steering Committee for Gary Hart's 1984 presidential campaign. He is chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon's President's Council and a member of the Obama for President Oregon Finance Committee. McCormack was also chosen as Alternate Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He currently serves on the Oregon Council for the Humanities and the Oregon Tourism Commission. Additionally, McCormack sits on the Board of Overseers for Emerson College, and is a co-founder of the Los Angeles-based Liberty Hill Foundation
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 14, 2009
This is a very good anthology, full of solid literary fiction. Most of the stories in here are as good as anything that turns up in the year's best anthologies. There are a few stories that were misses for me, but many more were engaging and thought-provoking. Among writers I'm familiar with, I thought both the Jonathan Lethem story and the Dorothy Allison were excellent. Writers who I hadn't read whose stories in here may make me seek out more included David Schickler, Nancy Reisman, Dylan Landis, Tom Barbash, Chris Offutt, Emily Ishem Raboteau, Max Ludington, David Leavitt, Michael Lowenthal, Ron Carlson, and Kevin Canty. And my list grows ever longer...
August 27, 2026
I picked up Bestial Noise because I have been wanting to read more short fiction and I have heard good things about Tin House. I was not sure what to expect from an anthology that pulls from four years of a literary magazine, but I was curious to see what kind of stories they were publishing.
The book is a collection of short stories from Tin House's early years. It has a lot of big names, David Foster Wallace, Amy Hempel, Mary Gaitskill, Jonathan Lethem, and Lydia Davis. But it also has a bunch of writers I had never heard of before, like David Schickler, Nancy Reisman, and Julie Benesh. The stories cover all kinds of subjects and styles. Some are pretty straightforward and others are more experimental.
What I liked most about this book was discovering new writers. I went in expecting to enjoy the famous ones, and I did. The Jonathan Lethem story was really good and the Dorothy Allison piece also stood out. But I was surprised by how many of the lesser known authors I enjoyed. David Schickler and Nancy Reisman both wrote stories that made me want to read more from them. I also liked Dylan Landis, Tom Barbash, and Ron Carlson. There were a lot of hits in here.
The writing is strong overall. These are well crafted stories that take their time and trust the reader to keep up. Some of them are emotionally powerful and a few made me think about them long after I finished reading.
That said, I did have some issues. Not every story worked for me. A few of them felt like they were trying too hard to be clever or experimental, and they just did not land. I can understand why one Goodreads reviewer said they put the book down and never finished it. If you hit a few stories in a row that do not click with you, it can be hard to keep going.
The book is a collection of short stories from Tin House's early years. It has a lot of big names, David Foster Wallace, Amy Hempel, Mary Gaitskill, Jonathan Lethem, and Lydia Davis. But it also has a bunch of writers I had never heard of before, like David Schickler, Nancy Reisman, and Julie Benesh. The stories cover all kinds of subjects and styles. Some are pretty straightforward and others are more experimental.
What I liked most about this book was discovering new writers. I went in expecting to enjoy the famous ones, and I did. The Jonathan Lethem story was really good and the Dorothy Allison piece also stood out. But I was surprised by how many of the lesser known authors I enjoyed. David Schickler and Nancy Reisman both wrote stories that made me want to read more from them. I also liked Dylan Landis, Tom Barbash, and Ron Carlson. There were a lot of hits in here.
The writing is strong overall. These are well crafted stories that take their time and trust the reader to keep up. Some of them are emotionally powerful and a few made me think about them long after I finished reading.
That said, I did have some issues. Not every story worked for me. A few of them felt like they were trying too hard to be clever or experimental, and they just did not land. I can understand why one Goodreads reviewer said they put the book down and never finished it. If you hit a few stories in a row that do not click with you, it can be hard to keep going.
November 21, 2022
Didn't finish. I remember there being something off with these stories. I put it down and never picked it back up.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews