In the New Yorker...

[serious crayons]

Here's the story on "Here's the Story," from the New Yorker website:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/06/this-week-in-fiction-david-gilbert-2.html

Since the world of the Bradys is such an artificial world, I wanted the world of Ted and Emma to be absolutely real. That was very important to me, for them to fly above the construct of the show, to take on the appearance of living, breathing souls and perhaps, for a moment, gain their humanity and transcend their non-origin origins. I also liked exploring the idea of fate, of assuming your story is the story when, often, your story is merely a cog in a much bigger story.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Well, for once I am actually "caught up" with my New Yorkers. Kind of cheated, though. I never care very much for the fiction issues, so this morning I passed the issue with the Brady Bunch prequel on to a coworker.

[Front-Ranger]

I usually skip the fiction in the regular issues but when the special fiction issue comes out, I save it to read all summer long. I don't have time to do "beach reading" but it's handy for bringing to the doctor's office. Now that my mom is living in town, I actually have to sit in doctor's offices.

The New Yorker's choice of fiction can be annoying sometimes, especially when many of the articles are translated from Polish or whatever. But I don't neglect the fiction altogether because, what if there's another Brokeback Mountain in there?

[serious crayons]

The New Yorker's choice of fiction can be annoying sometimes, especially when many of the articles are translated from Polish or whatever. But I don't neglect the fiction altogether because, what if there's another Brokeback Mountain in there?

I'm currently reading the Haruki Murakami story, translated from Japanese. Aside from whatever literary merit, those stories can be a convenient way to see what life is like in another country. Murakami's stories are very contemporary and make life in Japan sound a lot like life in the United States, actually.

But my fiction reading is pretty spotty at this point. I used to read the fiction above all else, and now I rarely read it at all. I missed "Brokeback Mountain" when it came out.

[Jeff Wrangler]

In a regular issue, I will read some fiction if I recognize the author's name, but that's about it. I think it's a good thing for The New Yorker to give exposure to writers who may be newer and out of the WASP main stream, but usually what they write doesn't interest me--immigrants in the New York region. I always used to read John Updike (funny thing, though, I never read any of his novels) (it seemed to me as though his short stories often took place in his home region, which, however fictionalized, is my home region), and I always read Joyce Carol Oates and Louise Erdrich. I can't think of any other names off the top of my head right now.

[Front-Ranger]

I like Salman Rushdie, Alice Munro, Stephen King, Jonathan Safren Foer, Jonathan Franzen, Jeffrey Eugenides, Dave Eggers, George Saunders, and Haruki Murakami. Those are all I can remember right now.

I never did enjoy Updike's work or any other writer who writes about the suburbs. Too close to home, I suppose.

[serious crayons]

I always used to read John Updike (funny thing, though, I never read any of his novels)

Same here. I read a few of his novels and loved them. Never any of the Rabbit ones, though people always recommend them.

I always read Joyce Carol Oates and Louise Erdrich.

Me too. I interviewed Louise Erdrich once (for the Toronoto Globe & Mail). But I always read her before that.

I like Salman Rushdie, Alice Munro, Stephen King, Jonathan Safren Foer, Jonathan Franzen, Jeffrey Eugenides, Dave Eggers, George Saunders, and Haruki Murakami.

I would look at all of these, but the only ones I'd for sure read are King, Franzen and especially Saunders. Maybe Eggers.

I read something by Sam Shepard recently. It was only OK. Actually, I had two stories of his, but the other one was missing pages (it was from my ripped-out pile) so I couldn't finish it. I had stapled these along with a profile of Shepard by John Lahr. That was more interesting than the stories.

I would read Jennifer Egan. I read something in the NYer by her about a year ago that was a story composed entirely of tweets. In fact, she had first "published" it on Twitter. I know it sounds hokey, but it was actually quite good. The tweets all represented brief, individual communiques from some kind of spy on a dangerous mission, either making notes on the mission or communicating with her team, so the form worked quite well. The story was so good it moved me to read Egan's novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, which I also really liked.

Sometimes i'll take a quick glance at a story to decide whether I want to read it. Frankly, I realize I'm looking for signs that the story will be easy to read: lots of dialogue, more short paragraphs than long dense ones, a recognizable setting and relatable voice and protagonist. I generally don't like stories in which the protagonist is referred to only by his (or sometimes her) last name.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I am positively delighting in Janet Malcolm's June 23 article about the Argosy Bookshop.  Run, don't walk to read this one. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

David Sedaris' June 30 article about his life with a FitBit makes me want one. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

So, at lunch today, I began to read the profile of director Richard Linklater (June 30), and I suddenly became acutely aware of what I think is a characteristic New Yorker sentence structure with regard to direct quotations, which is beginning to annoy me because of its repetitive use.

The structure goes something like this:

Name, long or longish modifiying clause, says.

Examples (italics added by me):

"... Quentin Tarrantino, who calls 'Dazed and Confused' his favorite film of the nineteen-nineties, says."

"... Ethan Hawke, who has appeared in eight of Linklater's films, says."

"... Jack Black, who starred in it, says." (OK, that's not a particularly long clause, but it follows the pattern.)

Actually, the pattern in complete form is:

Direct quotation, name, modifying clause beginning with "who," says.

If I were king of the universe, or editor of The New Yorker (they're the same thing, aren't they?  ), I would at least vary that structure somewhat.