Freeman's: Arrival

Freeman's #1

by John Freeman

We live today in constant motion, travelling distances rapidly, small ones daily, arriving in new states. In this inaugural edition of Freeman's, a new biannual of unpublished writing, former Granta editor and NBCC president John Freeman brings together the best new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry about that electrifying moment when we arrive.

Strange encounters abound. David Mitchell meets a ghost in Hiroshima Prefecture; Lydia Davis recounts her travels in the exotic territory of the Norwegian language; and in a Dave Eggers story, an elderly gentleman cannot remember why he brought a fork to a wedding.

End points often turn out to be new beginnings. Louise Erdrich visits a Native American cemetery that celebrates the next journey, and in a Haruki Murakami story, an ageing actor arrives back in his true self after performing a role, discovering he has changed, becoming a new person.

Featuring startling new fiction by Laura van den Berg, Helen Simpson, and Tahmima Anam, as well as stirring essays by Aleksandar Hemon, Barry Lopez, and Garnette Cadogan, Freeman's announces the arrival of an essential map to the best new writing in the world.

Genres: Short Stories, Poetry, Fiction, Essays, Anthologies, Journal

301 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2015

About the author

Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John Freeman is an award-winning writer and book critic who has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal. Freeman won the 2007 James Patterson Pageturner Award for his work as the president of the National Book Critics Circle, and was the editor of Granta from 2009 to 2013. He lives in New York City, where he teaches at NYU and edits a new literary biannual called Freeman's.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to the 'Washington Post'. John Freeman, was once rumored to be the most productive book reviewer in the country.
He was President of the National Book Critics Circle....(successful in shaking that organization
out of its slumber)... according to 'The Washington Post'.
"He then went on to edit 'Granta', drawing in dozens of prominent writers and raising
the magazine's prominence around the world".

John Freeman is back with his most ambitious and personal project yet.
He will edit a series of anthologies called "Freeman's" (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry), built around a 'theme'---and all the pieces will be 'new'.

I LOVE this idea (project), that John Freeman has created.
The first time I read a book 'a collection of essays' (literary collaboration), was years ago
when I read a book by professional women writers called "The Bitch In The House". The common 'theme' for these postfeminist's ...was expressing their anger-truth- about the
struggles and challenges between family life (mothers, lovers, independent women), and their
professional life.
Being such a successful book...
A group of 'male' professional writers collaborated their book called "The Bastard on The Couch", Daniel Jones, editor (men trying to express their feelings about love, loss, fatherhood, and freedom).
Another 'collaboration project' by JEWISH PROFESSIONAL WOMEN WRITERS...
was a book called "The Modern Jewish Girl's Guide to Guilt", Ruth Andrew Ellenson, editor
It, too, had a 'theme'... (Jewish Guilt)...lol

So...It was exciting and an honor to read John Freeman's first book of the series .... ( several of my all-time favorite authors contributed...and I had a chance to discover writers I've never read..several of whom I was so impressed with...I've marked their novels to read.

The 'theme' in this series is "WHEN WE ARRIVE".

I recommend readers read the blurb..., as I don't want to repeat what has already been written ..,
so.., I'll mention a couple of personal 'stand outs' .....keeping in mind with each story, (fiction or nonfiction), or poem, the theme, "When We Arrive", with each of them.

Edgar Keret, a very popular Israeli author...(it's rumored his books are stollen more than any
other author in Israel), happens to be one of my personal favorite authors.
His 'new' story "MELLOW" is hilarious, charming, and definitely fits the theme!!!!
A van driver named Aviram, (his first day on the job), is driving Etgar to a book reading. Etgar is excited and nervous - ( he has done book readings before), but this is his first time
being paid for it.
Aviram suggests they both smoke a joint during the car ride. At first Etgar says no..
But he soon joins his driver in smoking some pot.
You'll have to read the rest of this story to see how things turn out... but if you
happen to like cake, your mouth just might be watering.
A darn funny- wonderful story. I only wish - it were true.. And *I* was physically present at that
book reading myself.

Tahmima Anam: Is a Bangladeshi writer who wrote a wonderful story called "GARMENTS"
Several wonderful characters - working in the 'SunnyTex' factory sewing all day - either
at the sewing machines.. or sewing on buttons. The 'theme' about 'arrival' is compelling.
Several women think the remedy to happiness- to 'everything' is marriage.
Now..I happen to be happy in my marriage of 36 years... but is it the remedy to happiness?
And did I arrive once a bride? It's a great short story with twists & turns.. Wonderful engaging
writing. Her two novels called "A Golden Age" and "The Good Muslim" sound terrific - and I'm marking them to read.

I can see this review is already taking much of your precious reading time..(thank you), and I
still have at least several more stories to comment on...
But I'll switch gears... and hope many of you that read this-- might pick up on reviewing stories
I haven't. MANY are GREAT. How can you go wrong when so many outstanding
authors have contributed? You can't!!!

Many more favorite authors to read: ( the blurp mentions many)..,
Dave Egger's story is priceless!

This entire collection is priceless... I can't wait for the next one. I'll read them all!! I only wonder
if.....lol, John Freeman would ever consider hearing from readers... Offering our suggestions...
of other prominent and new talented authors we'd love to see in his other books?
One author I highly vote for is Robin Black. I think it would also be a treat to have a book reading with several of the authors present together. I love the collaboration - shared
purpose!!

Thank you Grove Atlantic - Netgalley- and John Freeman.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Sometimes when she woke from a flabbergasting dream Liz would lie very still to see if she could net it before it fled; perfectly still, eyes closed, not moving her head, as if the slightest shift would tip the story-bearing liquid, break its fragile meniscus and spill the night’s elusive catch”

Freeman’s Arrival is the first collection of short pieces (between one page and fifty-six pages in length) which are grouped loosely around the theme of arrival, edited by American author, poet, essayist and editor, John Freeman. The pieces include fiction, poetry, non-fiction and even a photographic contribution.

The fiction pieces vary greatly in their style and content, and while all are excellent, the standout stunner is the story by Fatin Abbas titled “On a Morning”. Her descriptive prose is wonderfully evocative: “William pointed out the important landmarks. There weren’t many: a mosque, a church, a police station, the small, dusty market…..Alleyways careening and twisting at random angles. Huts that didn’t look like houses so much as giant mushrooms that had sprouted from the earth. Goats that liked to perch high up in trees, snipping at leaves. A brown-green landscape, interrupted by the women’s bright-colored dresses in bursts of red and saffron yellow and rippling blue and orange” and she conveys the feel of Sudan with consummate ease: “People paused with their cups in midair. Spoons tinkled against plates. In the quiet, flies buzzed and zipped from one sticky teacup to another. It was close and hot, drops of sweat trickling down Alex’s jaw and into the hollow at the base of his throat, the tip of his nose gleaming”

The non-fiction pieces, too, are well written. From Colum McCann’s arrival in Dublin:“I began to feel what I can only call an emigrant’s panic. To be a man of two countries, his hands in the dark pockets of each, these were streets I used to know. Nothing was the same” to David Mitchell’s encounter with a ghost in a Japanese bedroom, to Aleksander Hemon’s description of his immigrant parents’ life: “Some native-born stranger versed in reality-TV diagnoses would see it as a place of hoarding, but everything in it makes perfect sense, not only to my father, but to me as well: The inside of The Barn is the inside of my father’s head, the clutter an emanation of his mind, the overpopulated territory of his personal sovereignty”, all are interesting, thought provoking and sometimes, hilariously funny, as Etgar Keret’s story, “Mellow” demonstrates.

Lydia Davis gives the reader an interesting take on learning a language when she explains how and why she learned Norwegian by reading a non-fiction novel by Dag Solstad, in Norwegian, without the aid of a dictionary, and with a less-than-rudimentary command of that language.

This collection is a good opportunity for readers to sample the works of writers with whom they are unfamiliar, although “names” like David Mitchell, Huraki Murakami and Colum McCann also contribute. Freeman states that his intention is produce such a collection every six months, so it will certainly be interesting to see what theme the next collection will explore, and which authors will contribute. Recommended.

[Biblio Files (takingadayoff) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freeman's is a new anthology similar to Granta. This first volume in what will be a series includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, a photo essay. The pieces are all new, they haven't appeared anywhere else. And they are organized around a theme, in this case, "arrivals." The writers are free to interpret the theme any way they want, so some stick close to the idea, others stray so far that it's hard to see the connection at all.

I'm usually a bit wary of short stories, since to me they seem to end before they ever get going and I'm left thinking, "now what was THAT all about?" But there were two stories here that I very much enjoyed -- one by Haruki Murakami about a middle aged widower and his new young driver, and Helen Simpson's low key story of a woman chatting with her acupuncturist during their sessions. I also liked Etgar Keret's humorous essay which reminded me how much I liked his recent collection of nonfiction, The Seven Good Years. Lydia Davis's long article about learning Norwegian to read a book she did not expect would ever be translated into English was unusual and surprisingly engrossing.

The essay that will stay with me though, is one by Garnette Cadogan, a New Yorker who grew up in Jamaica and became accustomed to walking at night as a young man. When he moved to New Orleans to go to university he discovered that a black man walking at night made other people uneasy. He was not used to being seen as a threat. He was also not used to being hassled by police, but learned that it's a regular part of walking while black. Walking in New York, as he learned on moving there, entailed another set of rules. He could not stand on a corner to wait for a friend, or stop to use his cell phone. He shouldn't run to catch a bus, this was perceived as very threatening. Walking with a white friend negated the threat, and walking with a woman was even less threatening, although in New Orleans if he walked with a white woman, he perceived raised hostility. Even after reading Ta-Nehisi Coates and others recently, it was quite amazing to get a point of view from someone who had not grown up with the antiquated and self-defeating racial rules we still have in America.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as an e-galley, which means I missed out on all the lovely journal experience—the handsome cover, the way pieces look on the page of those nice perfect-bound volumes. But I liked the content very much, and would definitely consider getting hold of the next in the series. There's a bit of a Granta v2.0 sensibility in a good way—strong, eclectic global writing—but, other than a series of short pieces at the beginning, there are fewer "name" writers and more new(ish) talent. And very global representation, much less of Granta's Brit-centricity.

I like a lot of the choices he made in terms of tempo, up to and including ending it with a longish, dryish piece by Lydia Davis on teaching herself Norwegian by reading a 400-plus page experimental Norwegian novel from start to finish. That piece is really kind of marvelous, very meta, because the more she goes on about getting pulled into the minutiae of the language the more the reader gets pulled into the minutiae of her process... it's one of those essays that shouldn't work but does. At least it did for me—it'll probably put off people looking for a more breezy, popular kind of essay. Maybe that's why he put it at the end, so you can just put the journal down if it's not for you and not miss the rest. But I thought it was a slow starter but neat. And the rest of the journal is a lot of fun.

Also: new-to-me essayist Garnette Cadogan. I will definitely be looking for more from him.

[Ollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Freeman, after many years manning Granta’s helm, decided to break away and start his own literary journal, named after himself. For its inaugural issue, he enlisted some heavy-hitting names to guarantee the launch would match its “Arrival” theme: Dave Eggers, Haruki Murakami, David Mitchell and Louise Erdrich amongst others.

The best piece – saved for last – is Lydia Davis’ short-story-disguised-as-an-essay “On Learning Norwegian”. She recounts in very elegant and inspiring style how she learnt another language by slowly playing a translation game on a history book promoted in Norway as a novel. It’s reason alone to get a copy of “Arrival”.

[Nellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to finally get through this but the essay at the end by Lydia Davis about Norwegian was one of the best things I have ever read, and I also loved an essay about emigration by Colum McCann. Turned out to be really lovely. Closely anticipating the next one.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it just for Etgar Keret's story about his first paid reading. I didn't quite make it to the end of Lydia Davis' thoughts on learning Norwegian without a dictionary...

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A variety of short forms of fiction and nonfiction on the many aspects of arriving.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review

Freeman’s – The Best New Writing on Arrival – Various writers – edited by John Freeman

8 out of 10

As a former editor for Granta, John Freeman will have seen a wide range of stories, from a wide variety of writers,aiming to be featured within the August pages of one of the most critically acclaimed, and popular magazines for creative writing, so it is no surprise that the stories within this volume are of a uniformly very high standard.

From names such as David Mitchell, and Dave Eggers, to names that I was unfamiliar with, these stories, with the central themes of journeys (physical, cultural,spritual etc) offer something to fans of the short form. Poems are next to photography, and next to stories, whether only a few pages long, or more formal the themes are well touched on, with writing that is both direct, and more delicate, from the examinations of well worn loves, to fleeting meetings, or to characters seeking to understand their parents, or their children better than they ever have done.

With 22 contributors, not everything is going to be to every reader’s taste, but most readers will find something they like, that they can relate to, and will discover new writers, and new ways of looking at the world, as a result of expose to the stories and ideas contained within this book.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely produced book with an interesting set of glossy color photo pages popped in the middle, in the middle of a story. This is one of the required reading materials that my Creative Writing teacher assigned to our class this spring. I'm not sure that I would have read it otherwise, but I'm glad I did. I had only read a few of the contributing authors here before: Davis, Eggers, and Murakami, so most of the authors here are new to me. I enjoyed the pieces by the authors I've already read and I especially liked one piece by Garnette Cadogan called "Black and Blue." I loved his writing and storytelling and can relate to his topic of race and walking, as my ex-bf was African American and would tell me similar things about walking around NYC. The Lydia Davis piece was very long and almost a bit tedious, but I actually ended up being amused by her meditation on learning Norwegian and all the mini lessons and realizations she shared. I'm going to need to read more poetry because I wasn't a huge fan of the pieces included here, but I'm not usually a big fan of poetry in general. Our class will be taking on poetry after prose this semester, so I'm sure I'll have a better appreciation for poetry after that.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Best of: Hemon, Van den Berg, Keret. Murakami pretty good, one of his stories-within-a-story, though the translation strikes me as awkward.

Surprised that one long piece of fiction wasn't edited well. Hmm. That and things like the fun by basically tossed-off Eggers piece makes me guess this got down to a rush near the end. Issue 2 seems to be arriving slowly--probably for the best!

[Parvathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A themed anthology, very Granta-like. There are pieces I absolutely loved and others that I thought were ok. On an average though, a very good read. David Mitchell's short on feeling a ghost in Hiroshima prefecture, Garnette Cardogan's essay on race and its effect on his love for walking the streets of cities and Etgar Kerat's absolutely wonderful short story Mellow were my personal favourites.

[Thelma Melendez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not generally my cup of tea with regards to genre, but I gave it a chance and was pleasantly surprised. Loved the diversity of the stories, as I never knew what to expect next, while keeping the writing style consistently amazing.

*I received a copy of this book via Goodreads giveaways

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Black and Blue" by Garnette Cadogan
He grows up on the streets of Kingston, Jamaica not because he lacks a home, but because his stepfather has "heavy hands." His childhood on the streets of Kingston converts him from a natural introvert into "an extroverted, awkward one." When he leaves for college in New Orleans, he sheds his identity as a Jamaican Tom Sawyer and encounters a different reality, one beset with suspicion on account of the color of his skin. Life in New York City leaves him still toggling between the romanticism of Manhattan under the magic of Whitman's praise of the city and the reality and shame of police frisking under a new law and order that bespeaks guilt until proven innocent for the black-skinned. Walk in the shoes of someone who knows the weight of heavy hands both within his own home and family as well as out on the streets among strangers. Moving. Humorous. Reflective. Garnette Cadogan is currently at work on a novel about -walking.


"Drive My Car" by Haruki Maurakami (translated from the Japanese)
The story runs smooth as the Saab 900 concertible that Kafuku rides with his new driver, Misaki. What unfolds in their conversation reveals Kafuku's life as a B/C-rated actor, his relationship to his recently deceased wife, and his subsequent friendship with her lovers. The language is mysteriously slow and lulling, yet quietly dramatic. Such a fully engrossing read.

[Esmée · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorites were all non-fiction. Alexander Hemon's essay about moving to Canada was moving and funny, especially when his father gets into a feud with the raccoons. Etgar Keret being super high at his first reading actually had me in stitches and Lydia Davis' essay on learning Norwegian and Dag Solstad was super interesting and I want to tell everyone about it.

[nells · Rating 5 out of 5]

IFavourites: Colum McCann's short, Black and Blue by Garnette Cadogan, The Dog by Laura Van den Berg, On A Morning by Fatin Abbas. On Learning Norwegian by Lydia Davis is one of the best essays on language learning and what it does to your brain I've ever read - if you read only a single text from this collection, let it be this one.

Least favourite: Haruki Murakami opening his short story with some incredibly idiotic stereotypes about women's driving. Imagine telling a story without dropping some blatant sexism in the first sentence?

[Stan Georgiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skipped Haruki Murakami's story, not interested in how he writes characters. On learning Norwegian by Lydia Davis is a gem, perfection for book nerds. They were pretty good: Mellow by Etgar Keret, The fork by Dave Eggers (funny), On a morning by Fatin Abbas and Black and blue by Garnette Cadogan.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lydia Davis's essay on learning Norwegian is worth the price of admission. Solid submissions throughout.

[Min Zhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Jazz • Min · Rating 4 out of 5]

Faves:
Mellow by Etgar Keret
Garments by Tahmima Anam
Black and Blue by Garnette Cadogan
On a Morning by Fatin Abbas
On Learning Norwegian by Lydia Davis

[Brad]

checked out for Dave Eggers' "The Fork," a four page short story about Edward Henri, a 72 y.o. man who discovers a fork from home in his pocket while attending his daughter's wedding

[Scott Woolgar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freeman’s is a series of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry anthologies wrapped around a specific topic, kind of like Lapham’s Quarterly (but more like Tin House). The Freeman's Arrival issue features new writers and favorites like Lydia Davis, Haruki Murakami, Etgar Karet, Dave Eggers, Louise Erdich, and Anne Carson weighing in on their experience of having arrived in a new literal or emotional place.

Bite-sized magic from some of the best thinkers on the scene today.

[Karen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got his book on publication and on revisiting my decade's reading i wondered why I hadn't revisited this biennial publication.

This features Cadogan, Egges, Keret, Mitchell, Moore, Murakami and more a very diverting book to dip into. I'll go back now and look at the later issues.

[K.D. Rose]

I've finished this book but have submitted my review for publication so the review will not show on Amazon or Goodreads for awhile.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable collection of short stories and poems. As is the case with an anthology there were a few real stands outs and a few clunkers (I thought the last story went on far too long for example).

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Lydia Davis essay on teaching herself Norwegian

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

But five stars for "Garments" by Tahmima Anam.