McSweeney's Issue 20

McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #20

by Dave Eggers (Editor), McSweeney's Publishing, Susan Steinberg (Contributor)

Every fourth page is a full-color figurative painting, each one by an excellent artist. The other three pages have fiction on them, with only one color but lots of words, including punched, pants, and Puerto—that’s actually just the first page.
After that, there are stories exploring animal-plant romances, psycho librarians, and passive-aggressive ventriloquism. No fewer than two dictators appear as protagonists.
And after all that, loosely glued to the inside back cover, there’s a fifty-page booklet containing a harrowing excerpt from Chris Adrian’s The Children’s Hospital, which will be out from McSweeney’s Books in October. A handsome, handsome issue, brimming with fulfilling things.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Literature, Literary Fiction

300 pages, Hardcover

First published June 27, 2006

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

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had bad luck with this one, because the first few stories I read were the weakest in the book. But after some more hopping around, I have to say this is one of my favorite issues of the Quarterly. The art was always interesting and some of the stories were really fantastic. Although most of the stories fall into my mental classification of the "McSweeney's style," which is my description for stories where nothing happens, people act in inexplicable ways, and which are enjoyable while reading but then immediately forgotten and never remembered, there are a few really interesting pieces in here.

Of particular interest to my future, re-reading-this-volume self: "Statement of Purpose," a strange, modern, misfit love story; "The Big Dud," some sort of spoof on detective stories, with a main character who sort of reminds me of myself; "Loess," a political-revolutionary story reveling in specific ambiguity; "Mate," about a regular guy (whatever?) in prison; and "The King's Book," which I choose to imagine is Saddam Hussein's arrest journal. Of these, the second and third are, in particular, worth rereading.

[Ryan Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had to buy this issue twice, as I ripped apart the first one to hang much of the beautiful art inside.

[Debbi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked a few stories a lot and a few I frankly did not get. Typical of a McSweeney publication for me.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Likes:
- Really enjoyed the form of this book (i.e. interspersed artwork throughout, very different short stories)
- Favorite stories were: "The Man Who Married a Tree" by Tony D'Souza and "The Big Dud" by Jack Pendarvis
- Really enjoyed flipping to a new page and getting a piece of artwork every other time. While it could be distracting from the story it was quite nice and I felt that it encouraged me to keep on reading

Dislikes:
- I didn't jive with all of the stories presented here (but at least they are all short and all are so different that you know you'll get something new soon)
- Some of the stories I really did not even understand. Seemed like they were just trying to be cool and "different"
- In general I am not a big fan of short stories. I also found that many of these stories are emotionally detached which is something else I do not much care for when I am reading.

[Ostap Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of short stories, with this edition featuring a modern painting on every fourth page. You’re never really sure what to expect in the paintings or the stories, and there were some real gems here. It’s hard to call out a favorite with as many hits as there were, but I found the four-page story “Terminal” by J. Erin Sweeney profound and it stuck with me. The quality of the writing and editing had me smiling throughout, and I didn’t want the collection to end.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t really enjoy these short stories. They were all a little too flowery and just began and ended abruptly with me left scratching my head feeling like I didn’t get it, which is something I hate in short stories. The stories were a 2 for me, but the illustrations were fun to look forward too and I loved the physical experience of the book itself, so that bumped my rating up to a 3.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anthology of short stories from contemporary authors. I found the fiction nonetheless emotionally detached. Some started out with interesting ideas but then seemed to meander. Beautifully packaged with a number of interior graphics.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag. Some of the stories I really liked and connected with. Others were just bizarre. There were multiple stories that I just couldn’t connect with. Overall an ok, quick read.

[Jed Aicher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only connected with the Jack Pendarvis. Story, but a real kick out of that one. Going to buy his story collections some day.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the man who married a tree.

[Lee Glanville · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seemed to have a different experience than other reviewers to this book, as out of the 14 stories I only enjoyed about 6 (including the novel excerpt, which is the best thing here).

Stories that made me excited about short stories:

Elsewhere - Roderick White
The strange frame tale taking place in heaven and the central mystery of who is killing the poets got me interested, while the excellent writing kept me reading, although the ending leaves a little to be desired.

Mate - Aaron Gwyn
A harrowing snapshot of one man's stay in prison. Well thought out characters, I liked how the protagonist slowly reveals himself to be not is harmless as he first suggests. A convincing glimpse of prison life; routine, boredom, friendship, fear, violence.

The King's Book - Sam Miller
A man responsible for the suffering of thousands refuses to feel guilty after being captured. A perfect short story.


Stories that were fine:
Statement of Purpose - A love story about imperfection.
Loess - An interesting story about the rise and fall of a civilisation as prophesied by one man telling another.

The best thing here is Chris Adrian's excerpt from his novel 'The Children's Hospital'. A surreal story about a children's hospital that is saved from the apocalypse by angels. It is funny, I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times, and the writing is inventive with plenty of interesting turns of phrase. The characters are also well rounded and came across believable in their actions.

All the other stories either left me bored and had no plot or had nothing interesting about them whatsoever. This is more like a 3 and a half stars. Without the novel insert it would've been a 2.

(Oh yeah and the illustrations are nice and varied, which is a nice touch. You'll no doubt like a bunch of them while hating others.)

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I am a fan of short fiction, even loving bizarre short fiction, this collection left me a little bit ... I don't know ... confused?
While the writing styles were on the whole lovely, there wasn't really a single story that ended with me thinking "Yeah, wow. That's meaningful." Most of them ended with me thinking "What? That's it?" I guess maybe I'm out of touch. Even the art work scattered throughout seemed to be bizarre, but meaninglessly so. What's the point of odd if it doesn't have a deeper significance? Or is it just me that wants that?

[Nate D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so I'm actually getting a little tired of these, finally. Come on, surprise me. The art in this one is great, however.

...

Took a break, came back. As others have observed, there's a sort of scattershot eccentricity to these that can occasionally intrigue without entirely fulfilling. Or perhaps I just zipped through some of these too quickly. Some definite highlights though: "The Man Who Married a Tree" is sad and beautiful, and "City Water" and "Elsewhere", though escaping obvious significance, have a kind distilled clarity and immediacy.

[Ryan Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably their strongest issue in years in terms of content and design. There's such a wide breadth of style and experience among the selections, it's hard to choose a favorite. So I won't. But I will highly recommend this issue. It's a little pricey, I know, but completely worth it. The hard thing will probably refraining yourself from tearing out all the art pages and tacking them to the wall.

[Bijan]

"The Man Who Married a Tree" is a story from this collection that has been stuck in my mind ever since I read it last year. The premise may sound strange, but it really made me think of how much life there is in the world, even though a lot of it may be hidden or unassuming from our own point of view. A surreal and poetic story.

Also, The illustrations all throughout the book make reading the stories that much more enjoyable.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first and only McSweeny's I've read and I was really happy with it. I loved the unique design and the wonderful art inside (I've since gone on to look for the individual artists to purchase some prints to hang). I can't say I loved all the stories equally, but on the whole they are funny and well crafted. I'm fairly young so the writing style of these authors really appealed to me as something different but still good writing. The story about Dud cracked me up.

[Penelope · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought most of the artwork was beautiful, and I enjoyed the rhythm of text and artwork in the layout of the book.

Favorites/Stories I would read again:
"Statement of Purpose"
"The Man Who Married a Tree"
"Terminal"

I found some of the stories extremely boring/pointless and was unable to get through a few of them because they just didn't hold my interest. Overall I disliked more stories than I liked in this collection, hence two stars.

[Asheroo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to rate these books, as they are compilation from many different authors on many different things. Sometimes short stories, sometimes shorter stories, memoirs, essays etc. This one was good like the others. I in general really enjoy McSweeney's Quarterly Concerns for the variety and originality of them.

I really enjoyed having full page art on every fourth page, plus the book smelled great.

[A-ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably my least favorite issue I've read so far. Most stories were either boring or I just didn't get the point. I had to force myself to finish the book, which doesn't happen often. Though, I must say that three stories stood out:

The Man Who Married a Tree by Tony D'Souza
Terminal by J. Erin Sweeney
Mate by Aaron Gwyn

Much of the art of the issue was lovely, some not so much.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

A beautifully bound book. Every fourth page features a full-page piece of art, all of which are very cool. And the stories? One was pretty good. The rest, not so much. This has been sitting on a shelf for like three years, finally got around to it. McSweeney's used to be a lot better in the early days, it would seem.

[eRin]

The stories were definitely not up to McSweeney's ususal standard, but the artwork (most of it, anyway) is amazing. I actually am trying to figure out how to tear the book apart so that I can frame some of the pieces; and then get another copy of the book.

Suggestions?

[Whiskeyb · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many pretty pictures! Most of the stories are pretty neat so far too.

[T. J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many indvidual stories, for me to review.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

every issue of mcsweeney's is a work of art.

[Kim Gold · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a collection of short and very charming stories by random authors. The illustrations in it (or any Mcsweeney's) are gorgeous!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

every third page has a killer illustration...this is one of the better McSweeney's, at least visually.

[A.Jay Wagner]

McSweeney's Issue 20 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern) by Dave Eggers (2006)

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not all short stories can be amazing but the majority of these are. The illustrations are what makes it worthwhile.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Statement of Purpose**
The Man Who Married A Tree
Houses for Fishes**

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best McSweeney's yet...so far.