McSweeney's Issue 56

McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #56

by Claire Boyle (Editor), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Introduction), Emerson Whitney (Contributor)

Issue 56 delivers new work from Michelle Tea, Jose Antonio Vargas, T. C. Boyle, Dantiel W. Moniz, Genevieve Hudson, Jincy Willett, to name a few, and a section of staggering fiction from emerging Nigerian writers soon to be household names, with an introduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. There are botched home invasions and perception-heightening witchcraft, disillusioned mailmen and playlists for the comatose, posthumous visits from lovers and nail-biting prison breaks.

And, if that weren’t enough, this opulent hardcover also includes a captivating ten-page illustrated story by Rui Tenreiro that begins right on the cover, and poems by Soviet-era absurdist Daniil Kharms, translated by Ilya Kaminsky and Katie Ferris. Time to cancel your plans—something more important has come up.

Featuring letters from:
Emerson Whitney
Jose Antonio Vargas
Michelle Tea
Kristen Iskandrian
Mary Houlihan

Fiction by:
Jincy Willett
Genevieve Hudson
Dantiel W. Moniz
Reif Larsen
Michael Deagler
Dawn Davies
Shubnum Khan
T. C. Boyle
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ope Adedeji
Roy Udeh-Ubaka
Adachioma Ezeano
Chukwuebuka Ibeh
Ngozi John

Three poems by:
Daniil Kharms
Translated by:
Katie Farris and Ilya Kaminsky

And a ten-page illustrated story by: Rui Tenreiro

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories

264 pages, Hardcover

Published July 9, 2019

Reviews

[Paul Dembina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ended up being better than expected, thanks to a good story from TC Boyle and some excellent stories from new Nigerian writers, one as young as 19 which I found amazing

[Timons Esaias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading this issue of McSweeney's at the same time as an issue of Best American Short Stories, and the truth is that the content and quality were mostly quite similar. This McSweeney's has a picture-book story on the cover and inside outer pages, and it has the Letters, which are a subgenre of their own. The Best American always has two opening essays, and longer bios and story comments. They both have similar styles, the same preponderance of status quo or downbeat endings, similar numbers of storytelling experiments.

This volume has one of the features I have always found interesting and positive: a selection of stories from a particular foreign place, or other identifiable group. In this case it's a set of "New Nigerian Voices" and while they weren't as polished, perhaps, as the rest, they were strong. Thank you, McSweeney's, for looking beyond the horizon from time to time.

They're also accepting of literary genre stories, and one of the Nigerian pieces -- Chukwuebuka Ibeh's "The Good Ones Are Not Here" -- is really a Horror story, strictly speaking.

To be fair, this venue is a tad more open to the upbeat ending. I scored four of the fourteen fiction pieces as at least marginally upbeat, and my two favorites both fell into that group. The first is "Only the Lonely" by Jincy Willett, the second "A World Waiting to Be Lived In" by Shubnum Khan. The first is the story of an elderly woman confronting an intruder, with a realistic, if non-standard, revelation of her actual emotions. The second is told in disconnected snapshots, and I found it effective. What was left out proved to be more intriguing than necessary.

I'll end with my standard word on this magazine: Really, you should try as many issues as you can, regardless of when they came out. Subscribe if possible. The variation of presentation alone conveys that they are imaginative, unconventional, and yet don't take themselves too seriously.

[Jim Lang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very strong issue of McSweeney's, with some great short stories in the front section. It was nice to read a new TC Boyle story (it's been a while for me). The stories by Jincy Willett and Genevieve Hudson disturbed me, and I liked the ones by Daniel W. Moniz and Shubnum Khan.

My favourite part of this book, though, was the selection of Nigerian writers, curated by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. These writers, when read together, give a good overview of life in Nigeria, and how much good writing is coming from there. These were great, across the board.

[Gerard Van Elzen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really impressed by the 'comic' story by Rui Tenreiro on the cover and the next few pages.
Other highlights:
Jincy Willett: Only the lonely
Dantiel W. Moniz: Thicker than water
Michael Deagler: All addicts (for me, this was the best story in this issue)
I was a bit disappointed by the T.C.Boyle story, mainly because I'm used to his stories being absolutely outstanding. Nevertheless, it was still one of the most enjoyable ones in this collection.
And then there was Chukwuebuka Ibeh, with the great horror story "the Good Ones are not here", which was just great!
All in all, three stars for this collection.

[Ostap Bender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another strong installment from McSweeney’s, who continue to do great work publishing young writers and giving diverse voices some visibility. My favorites in this edition:

If We Could Stay Like This Forever, by Genevieve Hudson
Thicker Than Water, by Dantiel W. Moniz
The Apartment, by T.C. Boyle
Becoming the Baby Girl, by Adachioma Ezeano
The Good Ones Are Not Here, by Chukwuebuka Ibeh … probably my favorite

Runners up:
A World Waiting To Be Lived In, by Shubnum Khan
After the Birds, by Ope Adedeji
Fading Lights, by Ngozi John

[NobodyInParticular · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super nice to read some short stories again and while I always find *some* of the contents of a McSweeney’s overly… arch, for the most part this was a wide-ranging, sizzling batch.

Particularly loved The Apartment (T. C. Boyle), The Good Ones Are Not Here (Chukwuebuka Ibeh), and Fading Lights (Ngozi John) - which had a perfectly depicted Valentine’s Day scene in it, appropriately enough for today. 💝

[Brandon Forsyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

McSweeney’s continues its recent resurgence of strong collections, but I can’t quite talk myself into giving it four stars. There are a bunch of solid entries, but the only one that truly stands out for me is Jincy Willett’s ONLY THE LONELY. There is a welcome dash of humour to many of the stories here, an element I have dearly missed from recent collections.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wide variety in this collection including a sampling of Nigerian stories. Some truly haunting stories in this collection include Only the Lonely by Jincy Willett and The Good Ones Are Not Here by Chukwuebuka Ibeh

[Mills College Library]

Coll.

[D'Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best issues I've read so far.

[Jennifer Royan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This issue is amazing! I normally feel the length or lack of variety amongst writers to slow me down, but this was a fantastic collection.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great issue!

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyable compendium, especially the Nigerian stories. Best McSweeney’s in a while.

[tenseManatee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of uneven. The design looks and feels cheap, the boards bare on the edges.

[James Kingman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories of calm and hysteria,
Steeling the prose like hysteria,
Read for the sadness
Stay for the madness,
And hear a new voice of Nigeria