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McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #29
McSweeney's Issue 29
With our biggest line-up in quite a while – fifteen stories from writers like Yannick Murphy, Roddy Doyle, Ben Greenman, and Peter Orner – McSweeney's 29 offers everything a good book should: there is jungle warfare, there are boomerang factories, there are tragedies and romances and animals it might not have been wise to bring home. There is also art on every damn page, and a finely die-cut cover, wrapped in several kinds of cloth, that will make other people want to grab this one right out of your hands, so watch out.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2008
8 people are currently reading
155 people want to read
About the author
Dave Eggers
338 books9,483 followersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is best known for his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of several notable literary and philanthropic ventures, including the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the literacy project 826 Valencia, and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness. Additionally, he founded ScholarMatch, a program that connects donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in numerous prestigious publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
November 5, 2021
Enjoyable mixture of voice and narrative styles. I find It’s Nice When Someone Is Excited to Hear from You by Brian Baise and The Painting by Roddy Doyle particularly memorable in this collection.
March 16, 2024
Incredible book
Some of em didn’t land too well but the good ones were just really really good.
Some of em didn’t land too well but the good ones were just really really good.
September 19, 2011
McSweeney's is always hit or miss but with a publication that puts out a mixed bag of writers with different approaches to writing that's going to be case. McSweeney's 29 is no different. Out of the 14 stories here I enjoyed 7 of them. They're the ones I'll write about briefly.
The book opens with Brian Baise's story "It's Nice When Someone is Excited to Hear From You" about a man who leaves his home town and close friends behind but who comes back after a few years, meets his best friend and realises that they've moved on and can't be friends anymore. Sounds sad and it is but has moments of light humour and pathos as well as some accurate observations on bar life. For me this was the gem of the book and a terrific opener (but probably because I related to the narrator the most).
Nathaniel Minton's "The Land of Our Enemies" is a bonkers, barmy, and wildly imaginative tale of two men who crash land in a jungle and survive in their own ways, eventually killing each other in a spectacular and dramatic battle at the end. I was reminded of George Saunders' "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil" when reading this because the characterisation becomes quite abstract. Memorable if a bit confusing to read.
Laura Hendrix's "A Record of Our Debts" is about a mysterious girl who is sister to the narrator who is accused of cursing the town they live in. The town's population goes mad and society falls apart until the townsfolk appear on their doorstep demanding the little girl for sacrifice. Reminded me of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", and just as readable and interesting.
Erica Plouffe Lazure's "Cadence" is about a love triangle in the army where one of the individuals burns to death before being told that he's going to be dumped by the other two. Very brief at 4 pages but some memorable images and genuine sounding dialogue.
Yannick Murphy's "Calls" is about a vet whose family including him gets abducted by aliens. Funny and interesting format.
Joyce Carol Oates' offering "Labyrinth" is two pages on the inside cover told in a swirling script that resembles in form a labyrinth. A bit gimmicky to look at but an interesting tale nonetheless of a boy being sent to live with his aunt and getting locked in the cellar after being told not to go down. What does he see there...?
Roddy Doyle's "The Painting" is the longest story here at 33 pages. Doyle's a brilliant writer whether its novels or short stories and this is no exception. A young Polish man who paints is living in Dublin. He meets a strange young woman who asks him to paint her portrait and he does. Once it is done they part ways but the young man catches glimpses of her around town where she is getting fatter. As she changes through the weeks he changes the painting as well by breaking into her house and adding to the painting. There's a happy ending here too. Strange and beguiling with a hint of the supernatural about it, if you've never read Roddy Doyle, come on, get one of his books out!
It's a very short book with a lot of stories having only 3-4 pages. It's beautifully designed with seemingly eastern European propaganda dating back from the 1940s-50s on each page in the corners. Like I said it's hit or miss and maybe out of the 7 I liked you won't like them as much or might like the other 7 I didn't mention and didn't like. It is a very eclectic mix of interesting tales and imaginative visions though and I'm glad I picked it up. Hopefully you will too.
The book opens with Brian Baise's story "It's Nice When Someone is Excited to Hear From You" about a man who leaves his home town and close friends behind but who comes back after a few years, meets his best friend and realises that they've moved on and can't be friends anymore. Sounds sad and it is but has moments of light humour and pathos as well as some accurate observations on bar life. For me this was the gem of the book and a terrific opener (but probably because I related to the narrator the most).
Nathaniel Minton's "The Land of Our Enemies" is a bonkers, barmy, and wildly imaginative tale of two men who crash land in a jungle and survive in their own ways, eventually killing each other in a spectacular and dramatic battle at the end. I was reminded of George Saunders' "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil" when reading this because the characterisation becomes quite abstract. Memorable if a bit confusing to read.
Laura Hendrix's "A Record of Our Debts" is about a mysterious girl who is sister to the narrator who is accused of cursing the town they live in. The town's population goes mad and society falls apart until the townsfolk appear on their doorstep demanding the little girl for sacrifice. Reminded me of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", and just as readable and interesting.
Erica Plouffe Lazure's "Cadence" is about a love triangle in the army where one of the individuals burns to death before being told that he's going to be dumped by the other two. Very brief at 4 pages but some memorable images and genuine sounding dialogue.
Yannick Murphy's "Calls" is about a vet whose family including him gets abducted by aliens. Funny and interesting format.
Joyce Carol Oates' offering "Labyrinth" is two pages on the inside cover told in a swirling script that resembles in form a labyrinth. A bit gimmicky to look at but an interesting tale nonetheless of a boy being sent to live with his aunt and getting locked in the cellar after being told not to go down. What does he see there...?
Roddy Doyle's "The Painting" is the longest story here at 33 pages. Doyle's a brilliant writer whether its novels or short stories and this is no exception. A young Polish man who paints is living in Dublin. He meets a strange young woman who asks him to paint her portrait and he does. Once it is done they part ways but the young man catches glimpses of her around town where she is getting fatter. As she changes through the weeks he changes the painting as well by breaking into her house and adding to the painting. There's a happy ending here too. Strange and beguiling with a hint of the supernatural about it, if you've never read Roddy Doyle, come on, get one of his books out!
It's a very short book with a lot of stories having only 3-4 pages. It's beautifully designed with seemingly eastern European propaganda dating back from the 1940s-50s on each page in the corners. Like I said it's hit or miss and maybe out of the 7 I liked you won't like them as much or might like the other 7 I didn't mention and didn't like. It is a very eclectic mix of interesting tales and imaginative visions though and I'm glad I picked it up. Hopefully you will too.
September 19, 2011
McSweeney's is always hit or miss but with a publication that puts out a mixed bag of writers with different approaches to writing that's going to be case. McSweeney's 29 is no different. Out of the 14 stories here I enjoyed 7 of them. They're the ones I'll write about briefly.
The book opens with Brian Baise's story "It's Nice When Someone is Excited to Hear From You" about a man who leaves his home town and close friends behind but who comes back after a few years, meets his best friend and realises that they've moved on and can't be friends anymore. Sounds sad and it is but has moments of light humour and pathos as well as some accurate observations on bar life. For me this was the gem of the book and a terrific opener (but probably because I related to the narrator the most).
Nathaniel Minton's "The Land of Our Enemies" is a bonkers, barmy, and wildly imaginative tale of two men who crash land in a jungle and survive in their own ways, eventually killing each other in a spectacular and dramatic battle at the end. I was reminded of George Saunders' "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil" when reading this because the characterisation becomes quite abstract. Memorable if a bit confusing to read.
Laura Hendrix's "A Record of Our Debts" is about a mysterious girl who is sister to the narrator who is accused of cursing the town they live in. The town's population goes mad and society falls apart until the townsfolk appear on their doorstep demanding the little girl for sacrifice. Reminded me of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", and just as readable and interesting.
Erica Plouffe Lazure's "Cadence" is about a love triangle in the army where one of the individuals burns to death before being told that he's going to be dumped by the other two. Very brief at 4 pages but some memorable images and genuine sounding dialogue.
Yannick Murphy's "Calls" is about a vet whose family including him gets abducted by aliens. Funny and interesting format.
Joyce Carol Oates' offering "Labyrinth" is two pages on the inside cover told in a swirling script that resembles in form a labyrinth. A bit gimmicky to look at but an interesting tale nonetheless of a boy being sent to live with his aunt and getting locked in the cellar after being told not to go down. What does he see there...?
Roddy Doyle's "The Painting" is the longest story here at 33 pages. Doyle's a brilliant writer whether its novels or short stories and this is no exception. A young Polish man who paints is living in Dublin. He meets a strange young woman who asks him to paint her portrait and he does. Once it is done they part ways but the young man catches glimpses of her around town where she is getting fatter. As she changes through the weeks he changes the painting as well by breaking into her house and adding to the painting. There's a happy ending here too. Strange and beguiling with a hint of the supernatural about it, if you've never read Roddy Doyle, come on, get one of his books out!
It's a very short book with a lot of stories having only 3-4 pages. It's beautifully designed with seemingly eastern European propaganda dating back from the 1940s-50s on each page in the corners. Like I said it's hit or miss and maybe out of the 7 I liked you won't like them as much or might like the other 7 I didn't mention and didn't like. It is a very eclectic mix of interesting tales and imaginative visions though and I'm glad I picked it up. Hopefully you will too.
The book opens with Brian Baise's story "It's Nice When Someone is Excited to Hear From You" about a man who leaves his home town and close friends behind but who comes back after a few years, meets his best friend and realises that they've moved on and can't be friends anymore. Sounds sad and it is but has moments of light humour and pathos as well as some accurate observations on bar life. For me this was the gem of the book and a terrific opener (but probably because I related to the narrator the most).
Nathaniel Minton's "The Land of Our Enemies" is a bonkers, barmy, and wildly imaginative tale of two men who crash land in a jungle and survive in their own ways, eventually killing each other in a spectacular and dramatic battle at the end. I was reminded of George Saunders' "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil" when reading this because the characterisation becomes quite abstract. Memorable if a bit confusing to read.
Laura Hendrix's "A Record of Our Debts" is about a mysterious girl who is sister to the narrator who is accused of cursing the town they live in. The town's population goes mad and society falls apart until the townsfolk appear on their doorstep demanding the little girl for sacrifice. Reminded me of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery", and just as readable and interesting.
Erica Plouffe Lazure's "Cadence" is about a love triangle in the army where one of the individuals burns to death before being told that he's going to be dumped by the other two. Very brief at 4 pages but some memorable images and genuine sounding dialogue.
Yannick Murphy's "Calls" is about a vet whose family including him gets abducted by aliens. Funny and interesting format.
Joyce Carol Oates' offering "Labyrinth" is two pages on the inside cover told in a swirling script that resembles in form a labyrinth. A bit gimmicky to look at but an interesting tale nonetheless of a boy being sent to live with his aunt and getting locked in the cellar after being told not to go down. What does he see there...?
Roddy Doyle's "The Painting" is the longest story here at 33 pages. Doyle's a brilliant writer whether its novels or short stories and this is no exception. A young Polish man who paints is living in Dublin. He meets a strange young woman who asks him to paint her portrait and he does. Once it is done they part ways but the young man catches glimpses of her around town where she is getting fatter. As she changes through the weeks he changes the painting as well by breaking into her house and adding to the painting. There's a happy ending here too. Strange and beguiling with a hint of the supernatural about it, if you've never read Roddy Doyle, come on, get one of his books out!
It's a very short book with a lot of stories having only 3-4 pages. It's beautifully designed with seemingly eastern European propaganda dating back from the 1940s-50s on each page in the corners. Like I said it's hit or miss and maybe out of the 7 I liked you won't like them as much or might like the other 7 I didn't mention and didn't like. It is a very eclectic mix of interesting tales and imaginative visions though and I'm glad I picked it up. Hopefully you will too.
April 16, 2009
Design: Eastern European matchbook covers. Hardbound.
Content: 14 stories. 3 that left a strong (positive) lasting impression. 6 that were decent, and 5 that I was fairly indifferent to.
The 3 standouts were a strange apocalyptic story from Nathaniel Minton, reading more like legend than story, an eerie sketch of misfortune and misplaced blame from Laura Hendrix, and a slight, formalist exercise from Joyce Carol Oates, effective despite its obvious, inevitable destination.
The decent examples included a long Roddy Doyle piece about coming to grips with constant change. I can't help but wonder how Roddy Doyle came to be such a constant McSweeney's contributor, though I can't really complain either.
The forgettable examples were mostly short.
Verdict: Pretty usual McSweeney's; as usual a decent introduction to abunch of new writers of some interest.
Content: 14 stories. 3 that left a strong (positive) lasting impression. 6 that were decent, and 5 that I was fairly indifferent to.
The 3 standouts were a strange apocalyptic story from Nathaniel Minton, reading more like legend than story, an eerie sketch of misfortune and misplaced blame from Laura Hendrix, and a slight, formalist exercise from Joyce Carol Oates, effective despite its obvious, inevitable destination.
The decent examples included a long Roddy Doyle piece about coming to grips with constant change. I can't help but wonder how Roddy Doyle came to be such a constant McSweeney's contributor, though I can't really complain either.
The forgettable examples were mostly short.
Verdict: Pretty usual McSweeney's; as usual a decent introduction to abunch of new writers of some interest.
December 20, 2008
Laura Hendrix's "A Record of Our Debts" is one of the best short stories that I've read that deals with "the other" and the feelings of suspicion that follow - a deceptively simple story with many layers and interpretations (I read it as a post 9/11 reaction).
Sweeney's "Augury" is a nice modern fable to dealing with excess and whims.
Orner's "Kosciuszko" is really good and adds some local Chicago flavor that I just gobbled up, but some of the language at the end seems gratuitious and changes the tone of the story for the worse.
Roddy Doyle's "The Painting" starts off pretty slow but builds to a satidfying conclusion - about love and art and breaking and entering.
Sweeney's "Augury" is a nice modern fable to dealing with excess and whims.
Orner's "Kosciuszko" is really good and adds some local Chicago flavor that I just gobbled up, but some of the language at the end seems gratuitious and changes the tone of the story for the worse.
Roddy Doyle's "The Painting" starts off pretty slow but builds to a satidfying conclusion - about love and art and breaking and entering.
May 24, 2009
I don't know why this issue of McSweeney's felt so much more solid than usual. The stories were just as hit and miss. Sure, there were gems like "Following a Lifetime of Fabrication...", "The Painting", "The Govindan Ananthanarayanan Academy..." and "A Record of Our Debts", but there were also stories like "History Lesson" and "My Crush on Hilary Duff" that didn't work. Maybe it was the mid-level stuff was a notch higher. Maybe it was that the issue's design seemed even better than normal. Maybe every once in awhile the stories just fit you a little better than usual. At any rate, if you haven't read any McSweeney's, this might be a good place to start.
February 24, 2011
So far I think this is one of the most compelling collections of short stories I have ever read. I was attracted to the cover art at a Border's store, so I brought it home and read it, and now I am interested in collecting the entire McSweeney's catalog. Beautiful, raw, imaginative works by a variety of talented artists.
January 9, 2009
favourite stories were without a doubt Laura Hendrix Record of Our Debts and Roddy Doyle's The Painting. Amazing stories. Love this issue.
Read full review on my blog
forgetting the time
Read full review on my blog
forgetting the time
September 15, 2009
I feel bad giving this two stars. These always fascinate yet fail. Most stories are pretty great on their own, but once you compile them, the self-absorption and melancholy inherent in the hip-literary-journal short story becomes overwhelming.
I just renewed my subscription.
I just renewed my subscription.
April 4, 2009
Beautifully bound so it is a pleasure to hold book of short stories, all but one by an already published author. Startling, funny, disturbing, but all very good. Have enjoyed two issues of McSweeney's since I began subscribing. Great for a dip into before sleep.
July 6, 2009
I continue to enjoy the Roddy Doyle stories that pop up in issues of McSweeney's considerably more than most of the magazine's other stories -- I think I should seek out writing by him. This issue was decent but not great, though its illustrations are cool old matchbook covers.
July 19, 2010
The first piece alone is worth the price of this book.
February 13, 2009
Tia just bought us a subscription. Thanks baby!
December 31, 2008
Probably the best issue McSwy's has put out in a year or so. Maybe longer. I'm not sure what else I can tell you here. The stories are great. All of them.
February 19, 2009
I found 29 a little hard to get through. Not all the way boring, but a little long winded for my taste.
December 27, 2008
Not a single stinker... Definitely a nice "return" after being disappointed by #28, the "fable" issue.
February 23, 2009
I really liked the binding and the illustrations in this one, all taken from old Eastern European matchbooks. Some really great stories -- I especially enjoyed Roddy Doyle's "The Painting."
January 5, 2012
Nathaniel Minton is in this issue--need I say more?
March 16, 2009
thank god that McSweeney's started publishing BOOK bound quarterlies instead of the gumbled mess of loose pages or multi-folding books that destroy themselves from shelvewear.
January 8, 2009
There's a real banger in this one -- Nathaniel Minton's "The Land of Our Enemies"
February 1, 2009
Fantastical stories, some of which are nice. The biggest gem is, interestingly, the only one without supernaturalism.
Read
February 9, 2009One of the better McSweeney's I have read. There is a story about a man painting a picture that is worth the whole issue.
February 17, 2009
Pipe dream: to be on the McSweeney's magazine layout staff. Sigh.
June 17, 2009
Love it
Read
June 22, 2009It's too bad most journals aren't on here.
December 16, 2009
Nice... it is a McSweeney's Quarterly full o' short stories. Some are awesome -- Some Aren't.
There you go.
There you go.
July 16, 2010
Gritty and sad, with hollow and occasionally disturbed characters. Basically what I've come to expect from modern fiction.
January 31, 2011
Good, bad, boring, and enthralling. I don't remember many of them now though...
October 12, 2016
Fun writing, super fun design.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews