And so, in contrast to stories of an earlier age, which had the air of settled belonging typical of a long-term resident in an old apartment building, these stories seem comfortable with a life of roaming. There is a kind of freedom in them, a willingness to pause, to wander, to take an unexpected turn, that derives, at least in part, from the very fact that the market doesn’t care as much for short stories as it used to. Exciting things happen in less popular forms.
