20 under 40

I am an avid reader of the The New Yorker. I rush to get the mail on Monday, and then spend my week carefully parsing out the stories, so I can have just a little bit every day. If I don't start 'til Tuesday- then bliss! For by Friday afternoon I am sure to have enough material for a binge. The goal is to finish Sunday.

I generally read the magazine cover to cover, even when I feel bogged down (usually during articles involving the legislative process). But this is rare. Even rarer do I skip something. I think in the past two years, perhaps I've skipped two or three articles. I am sure one or more was fiction.

Now, I am also an avid reader of fiction. I look forward to the story each week in The New Yorker with a combination of excitement and dread. Some live up to and exceed expectations: the weird story last year about the faeries that are trying to raise a human baby, anything by Roddy Doyle or the missed John Updike. Some don't, but I like to mostly give them a chance.

I am currently wading through the most hyped edition of the magazine in some time, the "20 Under 40" fiction issue. I have read some of the authors before and some I have never heard of. But I'm excited to read it all. I thought I would post my thoughts on some of the stories, since I've been having strong reactions so far. Feel free to agree or disagree.