I'm reading a long story in the fiction issue by Jonathan Franzen called "The Republic of Bad Taste." The first page or two were really hard to get interested in, but the story has picked up steam and now it's reminding me of a good film noir.
Did you read Freedom? I never got more than a few chapters into it. But I loved The Corrections! I'm wondering if my patience just isn't what it used to be.
I gave up after about the first page. But on your say-so, and because I generally like Franzen's writing, I should give it another try.
Just ran across this Today in Literary History factoid for June 26:TODAY: In 1948, Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" is published in The New Yorker. I never even knew that's where it was first published!