McSweeney's Issue 61

McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #61

by Claire Boyle (Editor), Maria Bamford (Contributor), Salvador Plascencia (Contributor)

McSweeney’s returns with a back-to-basics collection of the best literary material we can find. Featuring letters by Maria Bamford, Sally Wen Mao, and Melissa Febos; brand-new stories by Brandon Hobson and Salvador Plascencia; nine full-color comics by Jon McNaught; a housewares catalog for our dysphoric times by Gabrielle Bell; five pieces of posthumously translated microfiction by Argentine author Hebe Uhart; photography by Melissa Schriek; and a good deal more. A luxurious, leather-bound volume, with foil-stamped art by Sophy Hollington, you won’t be able to tear yourself away.

Featuring Original Stories by:
Ananda Naima González
Salvador Plascencia
Gerardo Herrera
Christina Wood Martinez
Maria Anderson
Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum
Amanda Ajamfar
Leah Hampton
Brandon Hobson
Timothy Moore

Art Features by:
Jon McNaught
Melissa Schriek
Gabrielle Bell

Five works of posthumously translated microfiction by Argentinian author Hebe Uhart

And letters by:
Maria Bamford
Ismail Muhammad
Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Julia Dixon Evans
Melissa Febos
Sally Wen Mao

Genres: Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 10, 2020

Reviews

[derek allard · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems odd to be giving this collection five stars because as I read it I didn’t think any of the stories were anything all that special. Some bordered on the pedestrian, a thing jotted off, rambling and vague. Sure the cartoons by John McNaught and Gabrielle Bell were excellent and, OK, Hebe Uhart’s “Five Short Stories” and Leah Hampton’s “Meemaw Fucks A Wolf” have asterisks in red in my table of contents now ... but still, compared to recent McSweeney’s this was a pale imposter whispering for help in the graveyard it would soon be buried in. But then I read Gerardo Herrera’s “A Non-Sprinklered Building” and WOW, just WOW. I have no idea who this man is and my searches online since reading have turned up little. Is he some kind of god crashed to Earth, living beyond the petty triteness of our interconnected age? If yes, please stay awhile. Mr. Herrera uses words to make a story that I can best describe as a revelation. But even that doesn’t seem to do it justice, to accurately describe how immersed into his narrator’s world we’re sunk. He creates fully formed characters with a handful of words, sprays the most unique, thoughtful detail with ease. It’s dense, it’s dark, it’s beautiful ... at times it’s difficult yet always borders on the divine. Rarely have I said WOW aloud so many times; rarely have I underlined as many sentences and phrases and perfectly chosen words, my exclamation point notes scribbled in the margin; rarely have I been in as much awe as I was by this story. To make an comparison, it’s as if every other author here (and most beyond this volume) are writing with crayons on gray paper with wood chunks in it. Mr. Herrera is playing high level chess here, perhaps against a super computer, while others are trying to understand what the squares on a checkerboard even mean. Yes, Christmas came a day early for me this year and it brought a gift I won’t soon forget. So McSweeney, be grateful Mr. Herrera saved 61 from the grave. It’s five stars all the way!

[Jayme · Rating 2 out of 5]

This took me almost a year to get through, so I guess it's safe to say the stories were not really pulling me back. There were three stories that stuck out to me: From Above by Amanda Ajamfar, Eclipse by Kirsten Sundbery Lunstrum, and Meemaw Fucks a Wolf by Leah Hampton. There was an interesting similarity across all three of these as they play with religion, folklore, and fables respectively. With each of them approaching it in a different way. I would love to read more from Amanda Ajamfar in particular, but sadly I see nothing else listed from them.

My absolutely favourite thing in this collection was actually the art collection, Modern Homes by Gabrielle Bell. They have these catalogue looking photos of rooms with bizarre, depressed, and disturbing images of people illustrated onto each photo. The dead cat lady one was priceless. I want it for my home.

I did notice that several reviewers seem to have loved the last story, A Non-Sprinklered Building by Gerardo Herrera and I think that was my least favourite. Maybe it's genius, but I'll never know because it was 42 pages long and TWO paragraphs. My brain went on vacation.

[Paul Dembina · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing collection, very samey, all seem to have been to the same creative writing classes.
However, the very last piece A Non-Sprinkled Building by Gerardo Herrera had something a little bit different about it and was pretty good. It's an extract from an upcoming novel so I'll keep an eye out for that

[Timons Esaias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fullish disclosure: I bought the second volume of McSweeney's from a Barnes & Noble periodical shelf, after inspecting the cover, and almost immediately subscribed. I have every volume on my shelves but the first. I have not been able to read them all, but I do hope to. I have read about a third of them, cover to cover. (I really ought to keep a list.) So, I'm a fan.

McSweeney's tries not to repeat itself, on the whole, and it treats book design as a fundamental part of the issue. Some issues are hardback in various formats, some paperback in various formats, some are a collection of pamphlets, there are at least two boxes, and a tabloid newspaper. Among other things, flash fictions have been presented on balloons.

As a rule they contain fiction, though there have been poems, various graphic pieces (as in this edition) and essays and reportage. Several issues have had selections of writers from a particular country or continent. They are open to popular fiction genres, though mostly written by academic or literary authors. And, like most literary products, they tend to the downbeat or status quo ending. Or the conspicuous lack of a real ending.

This issue contains three graphic contributions: a set of comic strips by Jon McNaught (that's a pseudonym if ever I saw one); a photo essay by Melissa Schriek; and a combination of advertising photos cum cartoon overlay by Gabrielle Bell (which is a stitch, when they work).

Hebe Uhart has a set of five flash fictions, on the shorter side of flash fiction.

Of the ten remaining stories my favorites were Leah Hampton's "Meemaw Fucks a Wolf" (and yes, it's a literary adaptation of the idea of Red Riding Hood), Amanda Ajamfar's "From Above" (addressing angelic problems); and Geraldo Herrera's half-fiction set in the middle of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire of 1977.

I wrote "OUCH" in the TOC next to Timothy Moore's "Trouble." It's a relentless and excruciating character study of a personality type many of us have met, and mostly fled.

Christina Wood Martinez produced "an interesting tale of people lying to each other" (my words) in "Dreamers." It feels incomplete as a story, but effective as an experiment. It would be one I'd be tempted to use in a classroom.

I did not detect a theme for this volume [many issues have a theme or agenda], but it's an excellent and challenging entry in the series.

So, if you aren't currently a subscriber to Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, what, exactly, if you don't mind my asking, is your problem?

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on McSweeney's back around issue 20 or thereabouts, thought I'd check them out again. And since this one is actually a nicely produced book, rather than a bag of balloons or newspaper clippings or whatever seemed most twee at the time, I decided to pull the trigger. Alas. It is, to be kind, middling. Maybe the world of short stories has simply passed me by, but these all read as though everyone attended the same writer's workshop and received exactly the same instructions on how to write. As for the photos and drawings...well...McSweeney's was better, once.

[Ostap Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the quality level of the letters to the editor in this issue and others, I admire the readership of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern. The short stories in the mix which follow are broad in themes and styles, and the issue has some great graphic art as well.

My favorites:
Wetumpka, by Maria Anderson
Common Ground, by Melissa Schriek (a collection of creative photos of the human body)
Dreamers, by Christina Wood Martinez
Trouble, by Timothy Moore
Modern Homes, by Gabrielle Hunt (graphic art added to images from a home furnishing catalog)

Honorable mention:
Escape from the Dysphesiac People, by Brandon Hobson
El Paraiso, by Salvador Plascencia
Something Hunted, by Ananda Naima Gonzalez

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This issue of McSweeney’s had me swinging between extreme love for the writing and unfiltered hatred for some of the stories. I think it’s simply a matter of what it is I like in an author’s style and what I dislike, there is certainly no bad writing. It is by far the best issue of the three I’ve read this year, and I’ll certainly be looking at some of the other works of a few authors. All in a lovely hardcover binding as well.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just incredible book this quarter. The opening story by Maria Anderson stays with you, worth it just for that one story.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing issue with an interesting balance of the fantastic, difficult narrators, and photo/collage elements - continues to explore the different ways to tell a story

[Brainard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I will keep my subscription :)

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a better collection of stories than the last issue. I also really enjoyed the cover art. I’d just recently been introduced to that artist and really like her work.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thought it was mediocre at best until the last story by Gerardo Herrera, and was happy to see it's an excerpt from a novel they're working on. Will keep an eye out for that, otherwise, very very meh.

[David Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

None of these stories were necessarily bad, but only one or two of them really managed to keep my attention and interest.

[Dave Corun · Rating 4 out of 5]

That last story was a doozy. 1 long 32 page paragraph.