The Laugh
“Neal had believed the myths about hyenas. Until he saw them kill.”
Fiction 2009
In This Issue
Alice Sebold on literary prizes; Tim O’Brien on detail and imagination; original stories by Paul Theroux, Téa Obreht, Rick Bass, and others; new poetry by Linda Gregerson and Donald Hall; and much more.
Stories
PS
A breakup letter to my therapist
Fish Story
“It was a swollen, gasping, netherworld creature. I had to keep it alive until they could kill it.”
Voices of Love
Tales of swingers, seductions, and extraordinary perversions
Furlough
“Colleen was coming home from Iraq. But Moira was like a surrogate mother now, almost a surrogate wife.”
Least Resistance
“Our first hug, between thermostats and oil filters, gave me a glimpse of where our friendship might lead.”
Alba
“Último knew people claimed they’d seen the Virgin Mary. But this was Alba, an ordinary girl.”
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Telling Tails
In fiction, details matter. But only imagination can illuminate the human soul.
Border Crossings
Does a national literature still have meaning in an age of open borders and polyglot cultures?
Joel Castillo Eyes on the Prize
Literary awards are inherently subjective, but they are also the most powerful antidote we have to the decline of serious fiction.
