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Wild collection of intersectionality with a large portion of fantastic
This whole collection is so eclectic, eccentric and well um gay. When I say I've never read stories like this before, I mean it, they were so unique and well written. Although content warning for sexual assault and abuse
Not my cup of tea, but a few great stories.Favorites, in order of appearance:PalaverBulldogsShort Stack (this one hit particularly hard)The Plant GameI Know How This Dream Ends
These are some of the best short stories I've read in a long time. The Chorus of Dead Cousins was especially good. Twins broke my brain a bit.
Enjoyed these stories the most:Palaver - Bryan WashingtonTrial of Ghosts - Venita BlackburnBulldogs - Kristen N. ArnettePeppersoup - Timi OduesoThe Plant Game - Kayla Kumari UpadhyayaGlass - Sarah Gerard
This is the best issue of McSweeney's since the head-box. Maybe the best ever.
As usual, some really awesome work in here. Bryan Washington’s “Palaver,” Garrett Young’s “Magdelane: Epilogue,” hurmat kazmi’s “The Wall,” Juli Delgado Lopera’s “Papi,” Paul Dalla Rosa’s “Short Stack,” and Bridget Brewer’s “The Geodic Body” all have double red stars in the table of contents (which is how I indicate oh wow stories). Keep up the good work, McSweeney!
Favourites:“Palaver” by Bryan Washington“Docile Bodies” by Christopher James Llego“The Plant Game” by Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya“I Know How This Dream Ends” by Dennis Norris ll“The Geodic Body” by Bridget Brewer
Beautiful collection of queer stories. My favorites were Twins by Eileen Myles, Trial of Ghosts by Venita Blackburn, Glass by Sarah Gerard, and The Plant Game by Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya
2.5/5. There were a few stories I liked, and quite a few I didn’t, and some that had such jarringly misplaced metaphors that I couldn’t tell whether I actually enjoyed the story or not. But for me the bigger problem was that in 280-some pages of queer stories, not a single person or relationship is happy and healthy. Why can this volume of queer fiction imagine all kinds of magic, but not queer people who aren’t self-destructive or miserable or somehow abused by their partners?
Favorite story: Trial of Ghosts by Venita Blackburn and I Know How This Dream Ends by Dennis Norris IIIMO best stories: Palaver by Bryan Washington and The Geodic Body by Bridget Brewer
This was a gorgeous and unapologetic exploration of queer narratives; I thoroughly enjoyed almost all of the stories, proving again the value of our rich life experiences and stories to tell within the community. More specifically, I loved none of the stories had a focus on the "digestible" expressions of the LGBTQ+ community (ie. coming out/identity crisis narratives) and told loud and whispering stories of all differing genres and perspectives. Particularly close to my heart are the stories "T...
3,5
Excellent collection, from some authors I already loved (Washington, Gerard) and a bunch of new names I will remember.
An issue devoted to queer fiction, and I applaud the inclusion and continued warm spirit of McSweeney’s. How can you not love an organization whose purpose is “to champion ambitious and inspired new writing, and to challenge conventional expectations about where it’s found, how it looks, and who participates.” There are 19 short stories here, and while for me the mix was a little uneven, it’s enjoyable to read new voices and the breadth of the offerings, even within this framework.My favorites:P...
A very solid and eclectic mix of stories, with some comics peppered in.
McSweeney's theme issues tend to land better lately. This is a very well-curated group of short stories, and I enjoyed reading it.
McSweeney’s #62: The Queer Fiction Issue edited by Patrick Cottrell Okayyyyyy I LOVED THIS. I really enjoy reading fiction anthologies that center around a specific topic - they let us as readers explore so many different interpretations of a theme all in one volume. When I came across this anthology of queer fiction, of course I scooped it right up. There isn’t one piece in here that I didn’t enjoy, but I did have a few favorites which were: Palaver by Bryan Washington, Swiffer Girl by Emma Cop...
Some of these I can't say I loved, but a few were great. The Plant Game stood out to me the most, managing to be intriguing and suspenseful. It may have been the only story in the book that I really care to know what happens next.
The best part of this issue, to me, was the art. The cover is beautiful and the pieces that accompanied each story had a great style that connected everything together. The stories themselves were mixed but all were interesting enough to keep me reading.