The Best of McSweeney's, Vol. 1

by Dave Eggers

Sie waren verstoßen und verwaist, doch dann gab ihnen jemand ein Zuhause - und sie wurden gefeiert. Zadie Smith, David Foster Wallace, A. M. Homes, Rick Moody, Jonathan Lethem - kaum zu glauben, dass die Erzählungen dieser Autoren einmal niemanden interessierten. Bis Dave Eggers das Literaturmagazin "McSweeney's" gründete. Heute, zehn Jahre später, zählen diese Autoren zu den wichtigsten englischsprachigen Erzählern der Gegenwart. Benannt wurde das Magazin nach Timothy McSweeney, einem mysteriösen Unbekannten, der vorgab, Dave Eggers' verschollener Onkel zu sein. Er wurde nie in die Familie aufgenommen. Und damit erging es ihm so ähnlich, wie jenen Autoren, die am Anfang ihres Schaffens von allen möglichen Magazinen die immer gleichen Absagen erhielten: Ihre Erzählungen seien zu schräg, zu lang, zu kurz, zu zeitlos oder nicht zeitlos genug.
Zadie Smith schrieb über Mädchen, die Mädchen lieben, David Foster Wallace über die unheimlichen Auswirkungen von Schönheitsoperationen. Rick Moody erzählte die Geschichte einer Familie, die im Mittleren Westen der USA eine Straußenfarm betreibt. Jonathan Lethem schrieb eine Hommage an Kafka, William T. Vollmann über den Tod und Arthur Bradford über eine sehr große, glänzende Schnecke. Dave Eggers liebte diese Erzählungen, ihre krude Mischung aus Fakten und Fiktion, Humor und Tragik, Experiment und klassischem Erzählen. Und er schuf ihnen ein Forum, in dem sie sich ohne Rücksicht auf Konventionen entfalten konnten. Seit zehn Jahren macht McSweeney’s nun aus den Außenseitern der Literaturbranche die Stil-Ikonen einer ganzen Generation

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Literature, Literary Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Dave 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.

Reviews

[piperitapitta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non poteva che essere così

Così così, intendo.
Perché è un libro fatto di racconti e di racconti di scrittori diversi, e a me i racconti, come ho già detto più volte, non soddisfano, perché mi lasciano con un senso d'incompiuto*.
Per cui 1 stella.
Poi però alcuni sono stati belli da leggere, alcuni interessanti, altri completamente inutili: per cui 3 stelle.
Facendo una media matematica due stelle mi sembrano un giudizio equo :-)

Dimenticavo, come al solito l'introduzione di Dave Eggers vale tutto il libro!!!

*(Come cambiare opinione sui racconti in poco meno di dieci anni: mi sa che mi toccherà rileggerli)

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, you are all so very clever. So, so clever. This reminds me of many moments I had in college that drove me to drink Southern Comfort until I passed out. But yeah, I liked it anyway.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge fan of this series. Really enjoyed a look back at the best of the best.

[Ostap Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything about McSweeney’s – the concept, the variety, the intelligence of it all – and so I really I had high hopes for the “Best of”. It comes in at over 600 pages, a monster of a compilation, and will probably have a little something for everyone. I have to say though – and this may be because initial expectations are so important in one’s ultimate evaluation – this edition is good, and certainly worth reading, but it didn’t blow me away as much as I was hoping it would. I’m not sure if it’s because, like a rock group who releases a Greatest Hits album and then includes songs from later (and lesser) albums that really shouldn’t be on there, editors Eggers and Bass opted for completeness and breadth over quality. I do think it could have been tightened up, understanding that it must have been a very difficult task, and in the end it may be just a matter of personal taste.

How the contributions stack up for me, which also gives an idea for how hard it is to assign a single rating to the overall collection:

Favorites (4.5 stars)
“Retreat”, and “Retreat #2”, Wells Tower
“The Girl With Bangs”, Zadie Smith
“Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events”, Kevin Moffett
“Fire: The Next Sharp Stick?”, John Hodgman
“Two By Two”, Gunnhild Øyehaug

Solid (4 stars)
“The Ceiling”, Kevin Brockmeier
“New Boy”, Roddy Doyle
“Statistical Abstract for My Hometown, Spokane, Washington”, Jess Walter
The assorted sampler of comics / graphic novels from #13
“The Bees”, Dan Chaon
“Gentleman, Start Your Engines”, Andrew Sean Greer
“Coop”, Glen David Gold (one of several 20-minute stories from #12)
“Bored to Death”, Jonathan Ames
“There is No Time in Waterloo”, Sheila Heti
“The Double Zero”, Ricky Moody
“Girl and Giraffe”, Lydia Millet
“Hot Pink”, Adam Levin
“The New, Abridged Dictionary of Accepted Ideas”, E. Rozic and A. Hemon

Meh (3 stars)
15-20 other contributions that are too tedious to list

Ugh (1 star)
“They All Stand Up And Sing”, Julie Hecht
“Mr. Squishy”, David Foster Wallace (this one was so poor it had me traumatized and curled up in the fetal position after slogging through it…Eggers seems so proud of himself to have gotten “DFW” to add a few ‘newlines’ to his paragraphs during the editing process and the fact that it was originally published under a pseudonym that he doesn’t critically evaluate it – and omit it – as he should have done)
“Notes From the Middle World”, Breyten Breytenbach

And, as a side note, I love Eggers’ relating the story about the inspiration for how his publication tries to select writers; he quotes Maura McSweeney, who he met (along with her husband Timothy) in Galway, Ireland, about a writer she liked: “He writes like he’s seeing the world for the first time.” … love that one.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

McSweeney's began my interest in literary journals about five years ago. Even though I'd never read an issue, the fact that Dave Eggers' name was attached caught my attention.

And now, five years later, I still hadn't read an issue. Not for lack of interest, but because, as I've mentioned before, literary journals have a tendency to be expensive.

That's what makes The Better of McSweeney's great and horrible. I get to read some great stories from the first ten issues of McSweeney's, which is awesome. But I really want to subscribe now, and I can't afford to.

The stories were worth a little lamenting about being poor. From the opener, "The Ceiling," by Kevin Brockmeier, a Twilight Zone-like story love and the sky falling, to "Tedford and the Megalodon," by Jim Shepard, the story of a man seeking the unknown, these stories are consistently fantastic.

Other highlights include "The Bees" by Dan Chaon, one of the most frightening stories I've ever read, and "Three Meditations on Death" by William T. Vollmann.

Before the stories start, there are letters to the editor from the first ten issue. They are a fun read, even if I did find myself getting impatient for the stories to start.

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A falling sky. A prehistoric shark. Reflections on the morgue. There’s a lot of death in here, a lot that is treated with a strange calm. And that’s just the tip. Overall, I think are few weak links in this collection. Some unenjoyable plots, but few unenjoyable reads. McSweeney’s places very little stock in predictability, I am learning. Although I rarely shell out the money to buy regular issues of the journal, I appreciate the same offbeat, earnest love of the literary arts I find in all the other toys in Eggers’ media empire: the Wholphin DVDs, The Believer magazine, the 826 Valencia–style programs across the U.S., the student-edited Best American Nonrequired Reading series, the books published under their banner like Michael Chabon’s beautifully designed Maps & Legends. I hate you Eggers, but I heart you, too. You drive me crazy.

[Ronald Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short fiction and essays selected from those published in the first ten issues of McSweeney’s Literary Concern. My favorites were: “Four Institutional Monologues” by George Saunders; “Three Meditations on Death” by William T. Vollmann; “Up the Mountain Coming Down Slowly” by Dave Eggers; “The Days Here” by Kelly Feeney”; and “In the Kingdom of the Unabomber” by Gary Greenberg.

[Kate Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ceiling by Kevin Brockmire

[Robert Morgan Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

What the hell is that thing on the cover? There's really nothing quite like McSweeney's. I savored every story in here and found a couple of absolute faves (e.g. Dr. Mr. President by Gabe Hudson which I can't find anywhere online and that's a shame).

[Raül De Tena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hay publicaciones que, de una forma u otra, toman el pulso a una generación artística. Y por mucho que en España sigamos haciéndonos los sordos ante el fenómeno de las revistas literarias (de calidad y lejos del snobismo), en Estados Unidos se vive desde hace tiempo un auge de este tipo de ediciones. Eso no significa que el mercado literario norteamericano sea paradisíaco: el propio Dave Eggers reconoce en el prólogo de esta antología que creó la revista McSweeney's Quarterly Concern como una herramienta para que él y sus amigos pudieran publicar obras repudiadas por otras publicaciones debido a lo experimental, humorístico o, simple y llanamente, por estar fuera de los cánones literarios del momento. Curiosamente, la McSweeney's ha acabado por ser la publicación de referencia a la hora de conocer lo que se cuece en las letras norteamericanas (y para qué vamos a engañarnos, mundiales, ya que las tendencias allá iniciadas son las que tarde o temprano acaban imponiéndose). En este primer volumen de la antología, se advierte que la mayor tendencia es ese cientifismo tendente a la objetividad que impregna desde hace años muchas de las categorías artísticas tradicionales: a diferencia de la pintura y el cine, la literatura esgrime señas de identidad tan aparentemente enervantes como el acercamiento a la literatura gris a través de la documentación exhaustiva y la disposición de la trama como si de un artículo periodístico riguroso se tratara. Lo que parece aburrido de entrada, sin embargo, acaba siendo una verdadera mina de logros a descubrir en manos de los autores con más pericia (ya que no todos salen victoriosos). Destacan el propio Eggers y su relato de superación americana con un twist final que reformula el moralismo que se veía venir desde el principio; David Foster Wallace y su capacidad para introducirse en el interior de mentes enfermizas y desordenadas; Sean Wilsey y su disección del "ver la vida pasar" en un pueblo realmente pintoresco... Pero por encima de todos, sin embargo, destacan dos relatos. El de Paul Collins por ser un juego de espejos en el que la mentira reformula a la verdad y la deja en paños menores. Y, como cúlmen de la antología, Gary Greenberg y la exposición de su correspondencia con el terrorista Unabomber, en la que se deja entrever muchas de las disquisiciones autorales y morales propias de todo aquel escritor que quiere acceder a la fama. Puede que Hunter S. Thompson encendiera la mecha de esta tendencia hacia el reportaje literario, pero tras leer Lo mejor de McSweeney's Vol. 1 queda claro que tiene toda una cohorte de alumnos aventajados.

[Corey Vilhauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excerpt from What I've Been Reading - January 2008:

"There was a lot to like in the McSweeney’s books, especially The Better of McSweeney’s. Kevin Brockmeier gives us a short story about a giant ceiling that descends upon the earth. Glen David Gould writes about a murdering circus elephant. Judy Budnitz muses upon a mother who is afraid of going to the doctor and her two daughters who end up taking her there – and ultimately covering for her. And A. M. Homes shows us that some people are really as unlikable as they seem.

The most amazing story I read this month, though, was from Dan Chaon called “The Bees.” In the story, a man’s long forgotten past slowly creeps back to the surface - a former girlfriend, a forgotten child. In the present, the man’s married again with another child, living out a sort of utopia after a hard life of alcoholism and mistakes. Except for one thing: the past comes back to haunt him.

Wow. Find this story and read it. “Amazing” doesn’t do it justice – it’s haunting, indeed. When I finished the story, I couldn’t go on. I was stunned. Numb. Startled by how good it was, unwilling to forge ahead and soil the memory of what has become one of my favorite short stories of all time. It’s horrific – a twist that causes you to both recoil and smile, a perfect ending to an engaging story."

[Jason]

"...I was instructed to come up with a slogan for the Burau's face-saving campaign. "The message here is that no one's perfect," said the Creative Director. "We"ve got to tell them that on every life a little rain must fall." I worked at it all day, trying to come up with something philosophical and optimistic. All I could think of were smashed cars, shattered roofs, the tiny carcasses of swallows frozen to the ground. When the Creative Director came around for my input, I shook my head.

"What have you got for us?"

I showed him the piece of paper with the only slogan I had been able to think of: These are the omens of the rites that failed.

[Ludovica Lugli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scontato che in un best of siano presenti diversi pezzi entusiasmanti, però lo scrivo lo stesso: in questa raccolta ci sono davvero dei bei pezzi, alcuni sono racconti, altri saggi giornalistici.
In particolare un resoconto su un simposio di architettura in una città sperduta nel deserto texano, un posto con un nome dostoevskiano e strani fenomeni luminosi notturni (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfa,_T...). E poi una ragazza con la frangetta che fa ammattire tutti (Zadie Smith), un dialogo tra Fabbricante di fuoco e Quello peloso, il resoconto di una lunga corrispondenza con Unabomber e le morali che se ne possono trarre.
Validissimo.

[Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best stories from the first 10 issues (all very rare) of McSweeney's.

Besides the fact that there's a hilarious visual metaphor on the cover (If you don't get it, think: What does a liver do?) and the fact that there's a story on the SPINE (!), this is probably the single best collection of short fiction I've ever read. I have given this book as a gift to several people, and if you like short stories you should find a copy immediately.

My personal favorite from this collection was William T. Vollmann's "Three Meditations on Death".

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you can't afford a McSweeneys Quarterly Concern subscription or you just want to get a taste of what it's like before subscribing, you can't go wrong with this book. It truly is the better of the stories that I've read from the quarterly. You'll laugh your ass off, you'll come close to crying, and hopefully, if all goes well, you'll be desperate to subscribe to the quarterly by the time you finish this book. It's mind blowing.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book suffers from the same problem as many musical best-of collections in that it seems to lack soul or continuity.

Also, several of the stories contained within are non-fiction but context is never given, and because McSweeney's embraces authors with experimental styles, this doesn't become clear right away.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This freebie and intro to McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is a collection of the 'finer moments' of the first 10 volumes. i particularly liked the one about the elephant. the other about the hitler birthday party and the letters written to CEO's from the perspective of a dog named steven.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading a lot of the short stories in this volume. I think my favorite was the story about Marfa, TX. It renewed my interest in going there soon for a visit. Its also really nice to read this collection since it offers such a variety of styles and subjects.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

A random jumble of stories with no unifying theme, overall message, and a complete disregard for grammatical correctness. Some days, I might enjoy tihs type of stuff for it's novelty/oddness, but I guess I just picked it up at the wrong time. Two stars.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some great stories in this book, along with a few I didn't care for so much. My favorite was probably the Zadie Smith, but there's plenty of good stuff in here to take up a nice summer afternoon.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of, like, real stories. It makes me feel like a hipster-y adult intellectual writer the way all things McSweeney's do. One of the stories was legit scary, and many were creepy. All were very well-written and memorable. Totes worth a read.

[Bijan]

Even the spine of the book has a memorable story.
Though I still can't figure out exactly what is depicted on the front cover of the book.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

short stories are my favorite things to read. I also like how the McSweeneys come in the mail and are different everytime. It's ten times better than a magazine subscription.

[Kennedy Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best contemporary short story anthology I've read. Ever. McSweeney's is amazing.

[Ryan Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was nice to get a few of the stories from issues I haven't been able to afford from the sellers on Amazon.

[Jenna Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read it in French though!

[angrykitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

even though i'm sometimes bored with some of the stories in the mcsweeneys books, this collection of the best of, really is just that, the best without some of the less engaging stories.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent short stories. mcsweenys is a bit to hip for some tastes but its got some very creative stuff

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. There were a couple of good ones, and the letters were funny, but there are way too many good collections out there to settle for this mediocre one.

[Lewis colburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good grab bag of short fiction is great from time to time, and this is a pretty good collection- some real wonders, some so-so, but there's something for most everyone here.