The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2018: New Fiction, Poetry, and Category-Defying Literary Gems

by Sheila Heti, 826 National

Sheila Heti, author of the acclaimed How a Person Should Be? and coeditor of the best-selling anthology Women in Clothes, along with the students of 826 Valencia writing lab will edit this year’s anthology. Their compilation includes new fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics, and the category-defying gems that have become one of the hallmarks of this lively collection.

Divine Providence / Quim Monzo --
An excerpt from Notes of a Crocodile / Qiu Miaojin --
This Rain / Catherine Pond --
My Family's Slave / Alex Tizon --
Eight Bites / Carmen Maria Machado --
The Deaths of Henry King / Jesse Ball and Brain Evenson --
A Refuge for Jae-In Doe: Fugues in the key of English major / Seo-Young Chu --
In conversation with Vi Khi Nao / Stacey Tran --
Come and Eat the World's largest shrimp cocktail in Mexico's Massacre Capital / Diego Enrique Osorno --
The Uninhabitable Earth / David Wallace-Wells --
An excerpt from Hunger / Roxane Gay --
An excerpt from Blacks and the Master/Slave Relation / Frank B Wilderson III --
A Tribute to Alvin Buenaventura / Andrew Leland, Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes and Anders Nilsen --
Six selected comics / Chris (Simpsons artist) --
Artist's Statement / Kara Walker --
Wave at the People Walking Upside Down / Tongo Eisen-Martin --
Meanwhile, on Another Planet / Gunnhild Oyehaug --
The David Party / David Leavitt --
The Reenactors / Katherine Augusta Mayfield --
Your Black Friend / Ben Passmore --
Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild / Kathy Fish --
Cat Person / Kristen Roupenian --
An Excerpt from The Antipodes / Annie Baker --
A Fair Accusation of Sexual Harassment or a Witch Hunt? / Lucy Huber --
Lizard-Baby / Benjamin Schaefer --
Chasing Waterfalls / László Krasznahorkai --
Love, Death & Trousers: Eight Found Stories / Laura Francis and Alexander Masters --
On Future and Working Through What Hurts / Hanif Abdurraqib --
The Universe Would Be So Cruel / Souvankham Thammavongsa --
A Love Story / Samantha Hunt

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Essays, Anthologies, Collections, Poetry, School

297 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2018

About the author

Sheila Heti is the author of ten books, including the novels Motherhood and How Should a Person Be? Her upcoming novel, Pure Colour, will be published on February 15, 2022.

Her second children’s book, A Garden of Creatures, illustrated by Esme Shapiro, will be published in May 2022.

She was named one of "The New Vanguard" by The New York Times; a list of fifteen writers from around the world who are "shaping the way we read and write fiction in the 21st century." Her books have been translated into twenty-three languages.

Motherhood was chosen by the book critics at the New York Times as one of the top books of 2018, and New York magazine chose it as the Best Book of the year. How Should a Person Be? was named one of the 12 “New Classics of the 21st century” by Vulture. It was a New York Times Notable Book, a best book of the year in The New Yorker, and was cited by Time as "one of the most talked-about books of the year.”

Women in Clothes, a collaboration with Leanne Shapton, Heidi Julavits, and 639 women from around the world, was a New York Times bestseller. She is also the author of a children’s book titled We Need a Horse, with art by Clare Rojas.

Her play, All Our Happy Days are Stupid, had sold-out runs at The Kitchen in New York and Videofag in Toronto.

She is the former Interviews Editor of The Believer magazine, and has conducted many long-form print interviews with writers and artists, including Joan Didion, Elena Ferrante, Agnes Varda, Sophie Calle, Dave Hickey and John Currin. Her fiction and criticism have appeared in The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Bookforum, n+1, Granta, The London Review of Books, and elsewhere.

She has spoken at the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate Modern, the New Yorker Festival, the 92nd Street Y, the Hammer Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and at universities across North America, and festivals internationally. Her six-hour lecture on writing, delivered in the Spring of 2021, can be purchased through the Leslie Shipman agency.

She is the founder of the Trampoline Hall lecture series, and appeared in Margaux Williamson’s 2012 film Teenager Hamlet, and in Leanne Shapton’s book, Important Artifacts. She lives in Toronto.

Reviews

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like to think of this anthology not as a portrait of this past year, but as a portrait of the collective taste of these specific, fifteen Bay Area teenagers, in the year 2017. Who were born just after the turn of the millennium; for whom Obama was the first president of their politically conscious lives; who started the year by telling each other what pronouns they prefer; who snap their fingers in agreement when another person talks; who are readers, and self-define as such.

This book was made by the bright, single mind that is made up of all their minds; and the following pages are what it wants you to read.
Sheila Heti, guest editor BANR 2018

Pick of the litter is ”My Family’s Slave” by Alex Tizon from The Atlantic.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

The kids who picked these stories must be great fun at parties.

[Grady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the ‘Best American’ series, the Best American Nonrequired Reading tends to have the most varied content and - I’m guessing this reflects the high school editors - the most intense, colorful selections. That’s true again this year, but I’m also struck by two other aspects - first, how unfun this collection is - the pieces that seem intended to be lighter are mostly either surreal (which doesn’t do much for me, but may for other readers) or are darkly clever, funny without being light. Among the surreal, I’d include Quim Monzo, ‘Divine Providence’, Stacy Tran, ‘A Conversation with Vi Khi Nao’, and Chris, ‘Six Selected Cartoons’, Annie Baker, the excerpt from ‘the Antipodes’, and Benjamin Schaefer, ‘Lizard Baby’. Among the witty but grim I’d count Jesse Ball and Brian Evenson, ‘The Deaths of Henry King’, Kathy Fish, ‘Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild’, and Lucy Huber, ‘A Fair Accusation of Sexual Harrasment or a Witch Hunt’.

Second, a handful of the heaviest pieces are anything but ‘nonrequired’ - they are central documents from the last year detailing ongoing cultural or social changes. These include Seo-Young Chu, ‘A Refuge for Jae-in Doe: Fugues in the Key of English Major’, a brilliant and searing meditation on her experience of having been harrassed and raped by her graduate advisor, and the way her story echoes sexism and objectification of women throughout iconic poems of Western literature. But that sounds dry, and this essay is creative, raw, and works on multiple levels at once. Alex Tizon, ‘My Family’s Slave’, reveals - posthumously for the author - a very dark immigrant story. It received substantial attention when it was published. Similarly, it would be hard to have followed mainstream print or social media last year and not seen references to Kristen Roupenian, ‘Cat Person’, even if you didn’t read it at the time. Finally, if you take science seriously, David Wallace-Wells, ‘The Uninhabitable Earth’, is in a class by itself for inducing anxiety, cataloguing a variety of worst case - but not actually unlikely - consequences of climate change. I was grateful to get to read most of these, but the assigned reading for virtually any class would be (emotionally) lighter than these pieces.

A final piece worth noting: Frank B. Wilderson III, an excerpt from ‘Blacks and the Master/Slave Relation’, presents a genuinely radical view of race relations. I don’t find it particularly compelling or useful, but it’s been a long time since I’ve run across anything written from so far outside the mainstream that was nonetheless addressed to a general, not niche, audience. I appreciate that this year’s edition included this breadth of perspective.

[Jolene · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a few pieces in here that didn't really register with me, but there are also pieces I will never forget.

Favorites (You can find them all online):
"The Uninhabitable Earth" by David Wallace-Wells
"Cat Person" by Kristen Roupenian
"A Refuge for Jae-in Doe: Fugues in the Key of English Major" by Seo-Young Chu
"My Family's Slave" by Alex Tizon

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the worst BANR anthologies I’ve ever read, with the exception of three or four pieces. The best story was “Cat Person” by Kristen Roupenian. Five stars! It prompted me to purchase her book of short stories, “You Know You Want This” which I just started.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In between scientific reticence and science fiction is science itself."

"A group of grandmothers is a tapestry. A group of toddlers, a jubilance (see also a bewailing). A group of librarians is an enlightenment. A group of visual artists is a bioluminescence. A group of short story writers is a Flannery. A group of musicians is—a band."

"When I swim at the public pool, I wear sunglasses so I can admire the hairless chest of the nineteen-year-old lifeguard. I love it that he, a child, really, is guarding me, fiercest of warriors, a mother, strong as stinky cheese, with a ripe, moldy, melted rotten center of such intense complexity and flavor it would kill a boy of his tender age."

[Jason Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent anthology with some powerful pieces. With that said I questioned the inclusion of some others. Overall I am a fan of The Best American series, but this lacked the extra “oomph” to merit 4 stars. This year’s The Best American Short Stories was a stronger collection.

[Preethi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories in this are 4-star-worthy , but the collection overall is quite average, IMO

[春香 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some real ups and downs in this anthology. Some chapters touched me deeply and some I skipped halfway through. I know that's just the deal with a book like this. I did enjoy the list of writings that did not make it into the anthology and wish that some of those had made it into the book itself. 2018 was 6 years ago, and in some ways this was a snapshot of the past. In other ways, I read a chapter and was struck by how the content is so relevant that it could have been written today.

Overall I think this is a read I will not repeat again. It was interesting enough that I'd like to read the other books in this series.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Year on year, this anthology introduces writers and stylings new to me. Selections that stood out for me:
-> Alex Tizon, "My Family's Slave"
-> David Wallace-Wells, "The Uninhabitable Earth"
-> Kathy Fish, "Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild"
-> Kristen Roupenian, "Cat Person" (One of the few New Yorker fictions I read in the magazine -- and I actually read it before media picked it up. My reactions/understanding on this 2nd reading so different from my first.)
-> Lucy Huber, "A Fair Accusation of Sexual Harassment or a Witch Hunt?"
-> Laura Francis and Alexander Masters, "Love, Death & Trousers: Eight Found Stories"

[Frances · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting concept, looking at contemporary short stories selected by teenagers. While there are several jewels in here, I didn't love the collection overall (some of these stories seemed to be selected for their shock value over the uniqueness of their voice/story). I would be willing to look at other editions in this collection just because the concept intrigues me. Maybe better luck next time ;)

[Wendy O'connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Best Nonrequired Reading 2018 is a collection of works edited by Sheila Heti. Essentially it's people telling stories about stories, but sometimes these works don't necessarily create stories. As a reader, I want a story. Three of the pieces in the collection did this for me and the last, a non-fiction piece, created stories within me. Those four are worth mentioning.

"My Family's Slave," by Alex Tizon is about a slave named, Lola living as such in an American household for 52 years. The story is told by one of the family members often appalled at his parent's treatment of Lola. The remarkable underlining of this story amazed me because Lola, despite her abuse, still believed in humanity. She remained humble, sacrificing and graciously giving throughout. Because we never got Lola's perspective, perhaps there were times of anger, but to the young boy who told her story there was only forgiveness. This is a story worth reading.

"Cat Person" by Kristen Roupenian left me with themes that lead to self-discovery which lead to rejection followed by guilt and anger. The characterization of both the protagonist and the "cat" person was so intensely authentic; it left me shuddering. Really, I am not discussing the sexual encounter in this story, but rather all the points leading to it and following it. The encounter itself was rather authentically grotesque. That part left my stomach reeling with sympathy for both parties.

"An Excerpt from The Antipodes" is about people telling stories about stories. It ask questions like What would communication look like without time? and Does God think in generals or particulars? These are interesting questions, but the story that lingered with me was the one about the wicked step-mother and the blue house with the bone fence.

The last piece is the non-fiction piece, "The Uninhabitable Earth," by David Wallace-Wells. It speaks of Doomsday, The Perpetual War and a rolling death smog that suffocates millions. it is completely cynical, but I could not stop reading. Oddly, it left me with hope because today still exist and choice is still mine.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2018 is worth your time. Cast out what you don't like and read the rest.

[Akin]

(Star rating doesn't apply, for obvious reasons)

Mixed bag, as one might expect. Never read anything by Roxane Gay before now; the extract from "Hunger" is encouragement to explore further. Quite a few pieces were very polished, wilfully surreal, and rather empty. Fun to read, but I wouldn't return to them. The David Wallace-Wells on climate change scared the bejesus out of me. "Cat Person": well, I know this is a "Peninsula Story" sort of thing (ref. Nora Ephron, "I Feel Bad About My Neck"): but can texting ever be a sufficient conduit for intimacy?

The two highlights for me were the two last entries: "The Universe Would Be So Cruel" by Souvankham Thammavongsa, and "A Love Story" by Samantha Hunt.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this collection. Will def read more if I get my hands on them. I enjoyed the random selection

[Niko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great collection this year. My favorites:

-"A Refuge for Jae-In Doe: Fugues in the Key of English Major," the aftermath of assault, written in poetry and prose, by Seo-Young Chu
-"My Family's Slave," an essay by Alex Tizon
-"Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild," a poem by Kathy Fish
-"The Uninhabitable Earth," a series of essays on how climate disaster is even closer and likelier than we think; horror nonfiction by David Wallace-Wells
-"Divine Providence," a story of a life's work that becomes somewhat Sisyphean, by Quim Monzo, translated from Catalan by Peter Bush
-"An Excerpt from Blacks and the Master/Slave Relation," an interview with Frank B. Wilderson III on the afro-pessimism movement and redefining the concept of slavery
-"An Excerpt from The Antipodes," a play in which a story is written by committee, by Annie Baker

I feel like they could have picked funnier pictures for Chris (simpsons artist)'s selection.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Christmas gift from my younger brother! Sheila Heti is great, and I love this series. Refreshing to read exciting, well-written pieces across genres.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading one of the Nonrequired Reading Series. There are three well-known magazine pieces which I had either read or meant to read: My Family’s Slave, The Uninhabitable Earth, and the short story Cat Person. My favorite short story in the collection, which could be considered a companion piece to Cat Person, was A Love Story. It was phenomenal and I would love to read more of Samantha Hunt’s work.

Other highlights included the comic Your Black Friend, the absurdist The Deaths of Henry King, Eight Bites, and the essay On Future and Working Through What Hurts. A diverse and thoughtful selection.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of my least favorite volumes of this series.

Reread edit: One of the student editors is named Huckleberry and then I wondered who these kids really are and their backgrounds and perhaps how performative this exercise is. I realize 2018 was a hell of a year and just an opening act as to what would come, but, man, there had to be some pieces that didn’t have an axe to grind.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are always going to be some pieces in an anthology that you don’t like, but that’s what makes a good, diverse anthology. BANR is one of my favorite annual traditions, and this one rescues the series from 2017’s rather undistinguished showing. Glad it’s back!

[Lauren Dandridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. It was fascinating to see what high school students viewed as important, and I definitely found pieces in here that I really love and will recommend to others. I didn’t love every piece, but I think I can definitely say I got something out of each one.

[Meera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I pick up this book because it was the cheapest book at the bookstore? Yes.

Is it now one of my favorite collections ever? Yes.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of the "Best American ..." series, having gone through all the sports books, and several of the travel, nonfiction, and more. This is my first of the nonrequired reading genre.

This book is uneven, in my opinion, as the there's an effort to stretch for the unusual or challenging that doesn't always work. A couple of pieces are presented in unusual ways, such as linked, numbered paragraphs, that would work with stronger material, but not here.

Also, I can't stand comics or any type graphic novel, so I didn't even read those selections. I find that the images in graphic novels substitute for depth in the text, and I want depth in the text.

This book skews towards college students and 20-somethings, given that students are the judges making the selections. As such, the topics are of interest to them, or what would/should be of importance to them (as I know a lot of people that age who wouldn't get through 4 pages of this book). This is fine with me, but it can be create a sameness of perspective over the course of a couple dozen essays and writing selections.

There are some big winners in this book. Given that it's using material written in 2017-18, racial issues are one topic, and there are a couple of chilling and fascinating pieces about slavery. Of course, the issue became even more prominent in the last years of the Trump administration, and I'll bet the 2019 book is full of that material, but you see the awakenings in this edition, and a variety that probably will be swamped by BLM-related works for the next decade (and that's appropriate, by the way). The one about a Filipino family that brought over an inherited servant in the 1970s (yeah) and basically kept her as a slave for decades is remarkable, as are the efforts of the author (one of the sons in the family) to do something about it. Sadly, he also describes in a vague way the breakup of his family, which surely had to do with the pressures of moving to another culture, working 3 jobs, raising five kids, and so on. I'd love to read more essays by him about his experiences in America.

And here's another major topic -- one that should be equally of universal concern. There is a chilling long piece about how climate change could very well be much worse than what we read in the news and from official outlets such as the UN reports or the US government. As this essay makes clear, those reports focus on the assumption that a 2 degrees C temperature increase this decade will happen, and then they describe the impacts on sea level, storms, agriculture, etc. The 2-degrees scenario is the focus because climate scientists believe it's the highest we can go without dire consequences everywhere, and it's also about the best that can be hoped for, given the emissions already embedded in our lifestyles. But there's a lot of evidence that the temperature increase will be 4 degrees C or even 6-8 degrees. And those consequences are, basically, the end of life as we know it. That's where this essay is so effective. Wish it was required reading in schools, state legislatures, churches (especially in churches), and elsewhere. And with that said, I'll add that I'm not sure I actually believe the worst-case scenarios will occur, as I'm more of a believer in technological progress to solve and mitigate the problems to a decent degree.

Finally, there are a couple of essays by fat women about weight, body image, and so on. That's not exactly up my alley, but I found the one about bariatric surgery -- which seemed to be both a real story and also an imaginary piece at the same time -- to be very compelling. It's hopeful but also sad at the same time; it reads like a play or movie.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite pieces from this collection:

+Qiu Miaojin - an excerpt from Notes of a Crocodile
+Catherine Pond - This Rain
+Alex Tizon - My Family’s Slave
+Jesse Ball and Brian Evenson - the Deaths of Henry King
+Seo-Young Chu - a Refuge for Jae-In Doe: Fugues in the Key of English Major
+Stacey Tran - In Conversation with Vi Khi Nao
+David Wallace-Wells - the Uninhabitable Earth
+Roxane Gay - an excerpt from Hunger
+Chris (Simpsons artist) - Six Selected Comics
+Katherine Augusta Mayfield - the Reenactors
+Ben Passmore - Your Black Friend
+Kathy Fish - Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild
+Kristen Roupenian - Cat Person
+Annie Baker - an excerpt from the Antipodes
+Lucy Huber - a Fair Accusation of Sexual Harassment or a Witch Hunt?
+Benjamin Schaefer - Lizard-Baby
+Laura Francis and Alexander Masters - Love, Death & Trousers: Eight Found Stories
+Hanif Abdurraqib - On Future and Working Through What Hurts
+Samantha Hunt - A Love Story

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this as a birthday gift and finally got around to reading it exactly one year later (ha). Normally, I wouldn't have picked it up, but I'm glad I read it and did enjoy many of the pieces included. The selection committee is comprised of Bay Area high schoolers, which is intriguing and offers readers a fresh literary perspective. Some of the pieces, I felt, were bizarre inclusions in such a compilation (i.e. "In Conversation with Vi Khi Nao", "A Tribute to Alvin Buenaventura"), or were entertaining but didn't feel coherent or substantial ("Notes of a Crocodile", "Lizard-Baby").

But to the positive. I found several pieces incredibly moving - "My Family's Slave" and "A Refuge for Jae-in Doe: Fuges in the Key of English Major", other pieces funny/provocative - "Come and Eat the World's Largest Shrimp Cocktail in Mexico's Massacre Capital", "An Excerpt from Black and The Master/Slave Relation", and others were simply great short stories - "Eight Bites", "Cat Person", and "A Love Story".

PS I wish each piece was labeled as fiction or non-fiction because that delineation can change the reading experience.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The journey to The Best American Nonrequired Reading started with Hanif Abdurraquib - an amazing American cultural critic and writer. After I read They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us", I tried to get my hands on everything that had anything to do with him. This miscellany features his essay "On Future and Working Through". It is one of approximately four works in this collection that I consider amazing writing. The others are (in no particular order): Alex Tizon for writing the piece from the Atlantic on "My Family's Slave", David Wallace-Wells' piece "The Uninhabitable Earth" from New York Magazine, and Samantha Hunt's story, "A Love Story". Naturally, another reader will have a very different opinion and what is best in this collection but isn't that the point of an Anthology - to broaden your reading? And now I have three more authors to library catalog stalk.

[Caroline Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to require myself to read this every year -- but I am so glad I read this collection of fiction and nonfiction, poetry and graphic novel-like stories this year! What drew me in, as if I were required to read more: "My Family's Slave," by Alex Tizon, a creative nonfiction essay about a lifelong servant, "The David Party," absurdist fiction by David Leavitt, "Collective Nouns for Humans int he Wild" by Kathy Fish (flash!!!) and my favorite: "A Love Story" short story by Samantha Hunt. Oh, this entire collection made me weep with jealousy. I hope to be 'nonrequired" one day!

--Caroline

[Zachary White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend The Best American Nonrequired Reading to anyone looking to expand their own literary and political awareness. This group of young people, 826 National, should serve as an example to all young literary scholars—challenging them to think about about what they are reading. Many of the stories in this anthology were extremely thought provoking ( my favorites were Alex Tizon’s “My Family’s Slave”, Kristen Roupenian’s “Cat Person”, “Eight Bites” by Carmen Maria Michado and oddly enough David Leavitt’s “The David Party”). While the other stories were thought provoking, they didn’t connect with me as these did. I would still recommend this book to any and all readers.

[Aaron]

This is the first time in my recollection that the BANR contains a piece that went viral...and that I didn't read until it appeared in the book. "Cat Person" is incredibly memorable and, arguably, verging into the territory of being required. But actually, I think it encapsulates the current mood pretty darn well. Which is kind of the point here. "Lizard Baby" returns to my mind often, as I continue to raise a dog whose quirks constantly amaze and frustrate me. "My Family's Slave" may be the most affecting piece of nonfiction in the collection. And "The David Party" is just really memorably quirky and fun.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not all of these pieces were winners for me, but as usual, it's a pretty solid collection overall. I was happy to see an excerpt from Hunger by Roxane Gay included, and I also enjoyed:

— "My Family's Slave" (Alex Tizon)
— "A Refuge for Jae-in Doe: Fugues in the Key of English Major" (Seo-Young Chu)
— Chris (Simpsons artist)'s comics
— "Meanwhile, on Another Planet" (Gunnhild Oyehaug)
— "Your Black Friend" (Ben Passmore)
— "A Fair Accusation of Sexual Harrassment or A Witch Hunt?" (Lucy Huber)
— "On Future and Working Through What Hurts" (Hanif Abdurraqib)

[Jen Bourke · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, The Best American Nonrequired Reading thrilled and depressed me. I look forward to these books every year, and it just so happened I didn't wind up picking this up until this summer. It kept me company through a tough summer and I'm so thankful for it. Each story in this book felt lovingly and carefully chosen, and like an incredible time capsule of 2018. I felt myself and others I knew reflected in these stories, and recommended many to my friends. I loved this book and I can't wait for 2019