The Paris Review, Issue 221, Summer 2017

by Lorin Stein (Editor), Caleb Crain, J.M. Holmes

Ali Smith on the Art of Fiction: "We are living in a time when lies are sanctioned. We have always lived in that time, but now the lies are publicly, rhetorically sanctioned." Percival Everett on the Art of Fiction: "I'm not a natural storyteller. I start with something that bugs me, some philosophical problem, and then I look for a way to explore it."

New fiction by Anne Carson, Caleb Crain, J. M. Holmes, Chris Knapp, Patrick Modiano, and Julie Orringer.

Poems by Amanda Auerbach, Stephen Burt, John Freeman, Dana Goodyear, Homer, Ben Lerner, Eileen Myles, Meghan O’Rourke, Frederick Seidel, and Jeffrey Yang (with art by Kazumi Tanaka).

And a portfolio of paintings by Hurvin Anderson, curated by Charlotte Strick.

Genres: Poetry, Short Stories

224 pages, Perfectbound

First published June 1, 2017

About the author

Lorin Stein is an American critic, editor, and translator. He was an editor of The Paris Review.

Reviews

[Paul Secor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interviews with two of my favorite writers - Percival Everett and Ali Smith. I enjoyed the Everett more than I did the Smith, but that might have been because of the interviewers more than the interviewees.

[Erika Dreifus]

Standouts in this issue include the pieces by Patrick Modiano (trans. Lori Stein), Chris Knapp, and Julie Orringer.

[Rachel Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first full Paris Review issue I've read, and I loved it.

[A-ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty standard issue of The Paris Review. Some good, some boring, some ok, great interviews. Highlights include:

The interviews...let's be honest, it's the incredible interviews that really keeps this being one of the few lit journals I subscribe to.

"What's wrong with you? What's wrong with me?" was a brilliant exploration of race and friendship. Amazing and gripping and real.

Fredrick Seidel's poems. Most poems leave me feeling nothing. I liked these.

Chris Knapp's excellent "State of Emergency" about the modern world, the crossing of our consciousness, fame, creativity, among other things, set upon the backdrop of a Paris cafe.

I liked the art feature quite a bit, especially the dichotomy of "paradise" and the fences.

"Sweet heart" by Eileen Meyers was a poem full of great images.

"Envoy" by Caleb Crain was an atmospheric story of an affair almost to be. It was a good mirror to the opening story.

[Michael Kitchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

"What's Wrong With You? What's Wrong With Me?" by J.M. Holmes (3)
"The Hat" by Patrick Modiano (3)
"States of Emergency" by Chris Knapp (1 - abandoned after 3 pages)
"Eddy" by Anne Carson (1 - abandoned after a couple pages)
"Neighbors" by Julie Orringer (3)
"Envoy" by Caleb Crain (2)
The Art of Fiction #235 - Percival Everett (3)
The Art of Fiction #236 - Ali Smith (5)

Average rating = 2.6

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed all the fiction bar Anne Carson. I found the stream of consciousness of Chris Knapp's Parisian flâneur very thought-provoking. Poetry was on par for Paris Review. Sick of seeing Frederick Seidel now though, half makes me wonder if he's paying to get his stuff in here.

Both interviews with ace, very insightful.

Overall not a particularly memorable issue though.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very different from what I usually read. I was happy I read everything except one story. This is a literary magazine, with pieces from literary writers and interviews of literary writers. Also, some artwork was included and I was quite interested in that. For me, this was a jolt out of my typical reading. An eye-opener.

[Kacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ali Smith alone was 5 stars, but what really made me want to live with this issue was the paintings of Hurvin Anderson

[Kaiju Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great issue. I love that the Paris Review takes chances. Even if there are pieces that don't work for me, I appreciate experiencing different things, reading about different perspectives, and most interesting to me, discovering entirely new formats. Last issue had the photo novella that honestly kind of blew me away with its strange other-worldliness, and this issue did the same with Love, Death & Trousers. I've never experienced anything so shockingly honest and simultaneously so openly deceitful. A selection from the book A Life Discarded by Alexander Masters, these stories are actually excerpts from the diary of Laura Francis (a woman who on the surface lived a plain life and kept plain notes about it) expertly knit together into glimpses that are deeply sad, funny, poignant, and meditative. A wonderful piece and worth the issue alone.

Jeffrey Yang's poems accompanied by Kazumi Tanaka's drawings are also wonderful, and push the issue into 5 star territory.

Both interviews in this issue are excellent, I even underlined portions of the conversation with Percival Everett, which isn't easy on a treadmill and which I never do (the underlining, not the treadmill... okay fine, the treadmill too).

I enjoyed all of the fiction except 'What's Wrong with You? What's Wrong with Me?' The remaining stories are each so different and honestly deserving of their own mini-reviews which I'd offer up if I thought they'd assist, but simply reading them would serve you better.

Just really good stuff here all around. Well done.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far: Justin Taylor's interview with Percival Everett is smart, playful and engaging.