McSweeney's Issue 76 (McSweeney's Quarterly Concern): Aftershocks

by Dave Eggers (Editor), Rita Bullwinkel (editor), Alia Malek (editor)

At this urgent time of crisis, McSweeney’s 76: Aftershocks presents a collection of contemporary Syrian prose — short stories, novel excerpts, and plays — that chronicles the literal and metaphorical earthquakes that haunt the Syrian people. Guest-edited by acclaimed Syrian American journalist Alia Malek, and encompassing the work of eight Arabic translators and sixteen Syrian writers (some of which have never before been translated in English), these contributors write across diasporic and refugee experiences, as well as from inside present-day Syria. In these pages, skeletons fall in love, Damascus alleys become time portals, letters tucked in bullet wounds reanimate the dead, minarets gush blood, and photographs become more human than humans. The requisite actors in these stories, and in any conflict (and crime) — victim, killer, survivor — are blurred and intimate. Magical realism, the absurd, and the surreal course through these pages. These stories ask us to imagine the unimaginable. They ask not “what is real?” but rather “how can this be real?”

Genres: Fiction

318 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 2024

About the author

Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is best known for his 2000 memoir, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which became a bestseller and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Eggers is also the founder of several notable literary and philanthropic ventures, including the literary journal Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, the literacy project 826 Valencia, and the human rights nonprofit Voice of Witness. Additionally, he founded ScholarMatch, a program that connects donors with students needing funds for college tuition. His writing has appeared in numerous prestigious publications, including The New Yorker, Esquire, and The New York Times Magazine.

Reviews

[Paul Dembina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A timely anthology of Syrian writers. As usual a mixed bag although my favourite piece was the extract from Mohammad Al Attar's play "Yesterday's Encounter"

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this collection, but just too many excerpts from larger works that don’t really go anywhere or have conclusions. Maybe I’ll check out some of the full works, but this just isn’t what I want in a McSweeney’s issue.

[Ian Mond]

I let my McSweeney’s subscription expire a couple of years back (around when Believer Magazine stopped publishing). But with Believer back, I decided to put down my hard-earned moolah.

McSweeney’s 76, under the title Aftershocks, was the first to arrive in the mail—published late last year. Editor Alia Malek shines a light on Syrian literature, bringing together seventeen stories that explore life under the Assad regime. Reading this book a month or so after the regime's fall was discombobulating, but that didn’t make the stories any less relevant. If anything, it highlighted the sheer terror, oppression and trauma the regime inflicted on its people.

All the stories are good, though I preferred those with a magic realist bent like Mustafa Taj Aldeen Almosa’s “The Things That Heaven Cannot Tell People”—about a cease-fire that sees the bodies of the dead used to ferry messages between the two sides—and Fadi Azzam’s “Diary of a Cemetery” told from the perspective of a dead person residing in the Cemetery of the Martyrs. That these stories read like fables or fairytales only reinforces the misery of Assad’s Syria—all the needless death.

If I have a complaint, it’s that too many of the pieces are excerpts from novels and so don’t have a satisfying narrative flow. Having said that, the best piece in the book is an edited version of a play, “Yesterday’s Encounter” by Mohammad Al Attar. The play alternates between two Syrian refugees in Berlin speaking to their legal representatives—Anas, a tortured activist and Walid Salem, the man in Syria who “allegedly” supervised his torture. It’s an extraordinary piece of writing, one about truth and justice and trauma. I’d love McSweeney’s to publish the complete production.

[Jenina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Caliber of magical realism as truth-telling as I’ve known it — unflinching and revelatory as much as it knowingly obfuscates while looking at you straight in the eye.

Finally!!!!

[Vladimir Ghinculov · Rating 4 out of 5]

McSweeney's is one of he best short stories magazine in the world and my personal favourite, even if sometimes I have to ignore its all too evident politics that become tiring. Issue 76 is all about contemporary Syrian short fiction and I was at first circumspect because personally don't trust singling out things or people only based on their geographical origin. Yes, I'm an individualist. But this school of literature, influenced by the sad years of civil war, is extraordinary. I appreciated most of all the darkness in the stories, the permanent presence of Death and its acceptance.

[Nathan Holic · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty underwhelmed here. I was hopeful and excited for the anthology, but there’s really very few standouts. Mostly it’s excerpts, even of dramatic stage productions, and its stories that just…don’t really do much (for me, as a reader).

I might not be the best audience for this collection, but I was a receptive one, and I found the collection to be the most blah of any McSweeneys title I’ve read.

[Ostap Bender · Rating 2 out of 5]

Certainly a timely collection given the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria on December 8, 2024; McSweeney’s had published this just three days earlier, and one can infer from guest editor Alia Malek’s introduction that it was written in roughly April. Now do one for Russia, McSweeney’s!

Unfortunately, while I appreciated the perspective shift and springboard into learning more about Syria, I found the 16 stories to be terribly uneven. I’m not generally a fan of the inclusion of excerpts of novels, and it didn’t help that a full six of these were in that category, and I say that despite liking one of them. Despite the heart being in the right place, it ended up being one of my least favorite collections from McSweeney’s.

With that said, these were highlights, and my favorites:
- The Things Heaven Cannot Tell People, by Mustafa Taj Aldeen Almosa
- Diary of a Cemetery, by Fadi Azzam, an excerpt from the novel Suduf
- Spring Diary, by Odai Al Zoubi

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This month's issue shines a spotlight on contemporary Syrian prose. It reminds me why I remain a McSweeney's subscriber because this is literature I would be unlikely to come across in my daily perusal. It's a powerful collection, all the more so given the climate of my home country towards refugees and people of color as well as what might well be a slide towards dictatorship.


Stand out stories for me: "The Things Heaven Cannot Tell People" by Mustafa Taj Aldeen Almosa and "Yesterday's Encounter" by Mohammad Al Attar, but the whole collection is worth the read. It did nothing to alleviate my anxiety, though, so make sure you're in a decent headspace before you attempt.

[Joshua White · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was tough to read about the devastation caused by the recent Syrian regime and a very different experience to learn about it through stories and plays. A common throughline seemed to be human connections; yearning for, problems with, breakdowns in, finding hope in. Even in dreams, several stories featured a yearning to know the individuals within the masses.

A few stories fell flat for me, but I particularly loved ‘Spring Diary’, ‘The Things That Heaven Cannot Tell People’, ‘Diary of a Cemetery’, ‘Kurdish Maqam’, and the last three stories really finish the collection off with a bang. The only problem with ‘Yesterday’s Encounter’ is that I can’t actually see the play performed!

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Assad regime and its end dominates this collection. The writers - some Christian, some Islamic, some atheist - all seem to convey a sense of loss, with some rays of hope for those writing as immigrants in their new lands, but not hope for Syria; only for their new lives in their adopted lands. Many stories either focus on or mention friends or relatives who disappeared during the Assad years. There are a few good stories that depict ordinary life in a character’s neighborhood in Syria, but some stories — being excerpted from larger works - have lost some context. In terms of writing quality (and bear in mind most of the works are translated), the collection is mixed.

[Martin]

This is possibly the largest reason that I’m finding it hard to judge this edition. Many of the pieces in are excerpts from longer works. Of those stories, I wonder if they’d have resonated more if I had the full work to enjoy.

I guess i ultimately view this volume as not about finding stories that connect or entertain me, but challenging the North American leaning of my usual reading and escapism.

It’s good to let yourself be challenged.

[Ampersand Inc. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, another interesting quarterly rendition from McSweeney’s, this issue focusing on contemporary Syrian prose. It includes short stories, dramas, and excerpts from novels and are largely in translation from Arabic. As with every collection like this, there were some pieces that connected more than others, but there was a definite poetic, magical realism (in a good way) quality to many of the pieces.

[Kaylee · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a collection - absolutely timely (and even worse when I actually got to read it, about a year after it was released....). All in all a solid collection - very serious overall (makes sense) and thought-provoking.

[Paul van Zwieten · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. A good bunch of stories.

[Brainard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been getting this quarterly of fiction for a while, and while always good some are better than others, and this was an exceptional collection, I’ll leave it at that!

[Alissa Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting array of voices I might not have encountered on my own. Thank you, McSweeneys.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some pieces were stronger than others or just more my style than others but I appreciated the theme and exposure to this translated material.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

where reality can only be explained through magic realism

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting stories from Syria ... all the authors were unknown to me and I appreciated the look at varying worldviews from a different country, but not all the stories completely grabbed me.