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McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern #69
McSweeney's Issue 69
Just in time for the holidays, the sixty-ninth issue of our National Magazine Award-winning McSweeney's Quarterly is a gift to adventurous readers. Featuring an irresistible mix of original fiction from daring new voices and beloved favorites, this issue is certain to delight one and all.
Often hilarious and always surprising, these are tales of contemporary life flipped and twisted, skewed and skewered. Inside this supermarket pulp-inspired paperback featuring cover art by Benjamin Marra , readers will find a novelette about a sex co-op by Lydia Conklin ; a relato about Veracruz dockworkers by Fernanda Melchor ; a story about an eccentric childhood neighbor by Julie Hecht ; speculative fiction about mothers and daughters in the apocalypse by Siqi Liu ; a shocking tale of baby bath time by Zach Williams ; a DeafBlind remix of an ancient Indian fable by John Lee Clark ; an encounter with your dimmer, more winsome doppelgänger by Yohanca Delgado ; and much more.
Not only that, we've gathered for you painfully new fiction about feral "glamping" trips ( Max Delsohn ) and mysterious deep-fakers ( Mikkel Rosengaard ), ghoulish bachelorette parties ( Mel Kassel ) and obstreperous crank-yankers ( Evan James )--all topped off by an extended post-breakup stay at your nearest fast-food joint ( Leila Renee ). Prepare to be entertained by letters from Ikechukwu Ufomadu , April Ayers Lawson , Anelise Chen , Bianca Giaever , and Ricardo Frasso Jaramillo ; drift away to a trash-strewn island in a full-color psychedelic comic by Connor Willumsen.
Compiled by visiting editor James Yeh , McSweeney's 69 is a vast topography of literary thrills and spills that you'll return to again and again. Ever changing, each issue of the quarterly is completely redesigned (there have been hardcovers and paperbacks, an issue with two spines, an issue with a magnetic binding, an issue that looked like a bundle of junk mail, and an issue that looked like a sweaty human head), but always brings you the very best in new literary fiction.
Often hilarious and always surprising, these are tales of contemporary life flipped and twisted, skewed and skewered. Inside this supermarket pulp-inspired paperback featuring cover art by Benjamin Marra , readers will find a novelette about a sex co-op by Lydia Conklin ; a relato about Veracruz dockworkers by Fernanda Melchor ; a story about an eccentric childhood neighbor by Julie Hecht ; speculative fiction about mothers and daughters in the apocalypse by Siqi Liu ; a shocking tale of baby bath time by Zach Williams ; a DeafBlind remix of an ancient Indian fable by John Lee Clark ; an encounter with your dimmer, more winsome doppelgänger by Yohanca Delgado ; and much more.
Not only that, we've gathered for you painfully new fiction about feral "glamping" trips ( Max Delsohn ) and mysterious deep-fakers ( Mikkel Rosengaard ), ghoulish bachelorette parties ( Mel Kassel ) and obstreperous crank-yankers ( Evan James )--all topped off by an extended post-breakup stay at your nearest fast-food joint ( Leila Renee ). Prepare to be entertained by letters from Ikechukwu Ufomadu , April Ayers Lawson , Anelise Chen , Bianca Giaever , and Ricardo Frasso Jaramillo ; drift away to a trash-strewn island in a full-color psychedelic comic by Connor Willumsen.
Compiled by visiting editor James Yeh , McSweeney's 69 is a vast topography of literary thrills and spills that you'll return to again and again. Ever changing, each issue of the quarterly is completely redesigned (there have been hardcovers and paperbacks, an issue with two spines, an issue with a magnetic binding, an issue that looked like a bundle of junk mail, and an issue that looked like a sweaty human head), but always brings you the very best in new literary fiction.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
320 pages, Paperback
Published December 1, 2022
5 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 7, 2023
The very first page once the cover was lifted was of a comic. It was not the usual title page with the copyright information on the back of it. What a welcome change of pace from the boilerplate standard the rest of the book world rolls with. Also included in this issue were letters (a fan favorite) and twelve short stories.
My Favorite:
“Scraps” – A recently dumped woman camps out at her favorite comfort food location.
We all have been there, and the story captures that rock bottom feeling perfectly.
My Least Favorite:
“Stuffed Cabbage Man” – A woman remembers neighbors from her childhood.
Memories are unique to the individual and what one mind finds engaging another will see as boring. This one bored me.
The One That Left Me Scratching My Head:
“A Fable” – I cannot figure this one out and I admit defeat after rereading it multiple times. I need somebody else to read it and explain it to me. For real.
Three stars to an issue that matched the previous in quality.
My Favorite:
“Scraps” – A recently dumped woman camps out at her favorite comfort food location.
We all have been there, and the story captures that rock bottom feeling perfectly.
My Least Favorite:
“Stuffed Cabbage Man” – A woman remembers neighbors from her childhood.
Memories are unique to the individual and what one mind finds engaging another will see as boring. This one bored me.
The One That Left Me Scratching My Head:
“A Fable” – I cannot figure this one out and I admit defeat after rereading it multiple times. I need somebody else to read it and explain it to me. For real.
Three stars to an issue that matched the previous in quality.
April 20, 2023
An incredibly strong magazine issue, featuring darkly funny stories just this side of body horror. Awesome stuff that stretches the narrow confines of “literary” fiction.
January 4, 2023
Great mix - darker than usual!
April 1, 2023
A quality collection of letters to the editor and short stories here in McSweeney’s #69. I also rather liked the old-school paperback format, which to me emphasizes the writing more so than some of the other creative issues.
My favorites:
- Letter from Bianca Giaever on her biking through intense wind across America.
- Letter from Ikechukwu Ufomadu on trying to make Tuesdays more exciting.
- Letter from Anelise Chu on pregnancy and the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
- Letter from Richard Frasso Jaramillo on his friendship with a 10-year-old neighbor, which included this lovely line: “I don’t want to become just like those older advice-givers, believing themselves able to carry solace across the chasm of experience; it’s a fool’s errand, in the end, to feign the shape of another’s tomorrow.”
- Asymptote, by Siqi Lu, on living with impending apocalyptic doom, and contemplating the lives of her parents back in China.
- 18 or 34 Miles from Perennial Square, by Max Delsohn, about two trans men out on a camping trip, recounting encounters with bigoted groups and encountering a wild penis. Loved Delsohn’s creative writing style (at least in a short story), and this one was quite humorous.
- Scraps, by Leila Renee, about a heartbroken young woman deciding to stay a few nights inside a KFC after her breakup, and her relationship with her sister and single mother.
- True, False, Floating, by Mel Kassel, about a woman and her three bridesmaids who go to a surgical soothsaying session in which fortunes are read through direct examination of the rib bones.
There are several other solid stories and by my count, only one clunker. Overall, a really nice issue that was well worth reading.
My favorites:
- Letter from Bianca Giaever on her biking through intense wind across America.
- Letter from Ikechukwu Ufomadu on trying to make Tuesdays more exciting.
- Letter from Anelise Chu on pregnancy and the overturn of Roe v. Wade.
- Letter from Richard Frasso Jaramillo on his friendship with a 10-year-old neighbor, which included this lovely line: “I don’t want to become just like those older advice-givers, believing themselves able to carry solace across the chasm of experience; it’s a fool’s errand, in the end, to feign the shape of another’s tomorrow.”
- Asymptote, by Siqi Lu, on living with impending apocalyptic doom, and contemplating the lives of her parents back in China.
- 18 or 34 Miles from Perennial Square, by Max Delsohn, about two trans men out on a camping trip, recounting encounters with bigoted groups and encountering a wild penis. Loved Delsohn’s creative writing style (at least in a short story), and this one was quite humorous.
- Scraps, by Leila Renee, about a heartbroken young woman deciding to stay a few nights inside a KFC after her breakup, and her relationship with her sister and single mother.
- True, False, Floating, by Mel Kassel, about a woman and her three bridesmaids who go to a surgical soothsaying session in which fortunes are read through direct examination of the rib bones.
There are several other solid stories and by my count, only one clunker. Overall, a really nice issue that was well worth reading.
October 9, 2023
As always, an issue of McSweeney's is a mixed bag. This one had more good than bad. Some highlights:
The letters. I always love the letters.
The surreal "The New Toe" by Zach Williams
"This is not Miami" by Fernanda Melchor
My personal favorite was "Scraps" by Leila Renee about a young woman looking for answers at a KFC.
"An Audacious Man" by Evan James was a simple, but effective plot
"The Reanimator" by Mikkel Rosengaard about grief and technology.
"The New Mate" by Yohanca Delgado about a healing commune. I enjoyed the journey, even if the ending left me cold.
The letters. I always love the letters.
The surreal "The New Toe" by Zach Williams
"This is not Miami" by Fernanda Melchor
My personal favorite was "Scraps" by Leila Renee about a young woman looking for answers at a KFC.
"An Audacious Man" by Evan James was a simple, but effective plot
"The Reanimator" by Mikkel Rosengaard about grief and technology.
"The New Mate" by Yohanca Delgado about a healing commune. I enjoyed the journey, even if the ending left me cold.
February 9, 2023
This is a great collection of short stories! Most are fairly dark, but each is a unique storyline. I don’t normally read a McSweeney’s from cover to cover; this one is in the format of a trade paperback and once I picked it up, I couldn’t stop reading the stories. It’s nice to see McSweeney’s back in print, I supported their kickstarter campaign to start back up their quarterly. Eight stories in all, each a bit of a surprise.
September 17, 2023
Took me a while to get through this one, but stand out stories for me were the eerie body horror of True, False, Floating by Mel Kassel & The New Toe by Zach Williams, and a rare heartwarming tale- The Reanimator by Mikkel Rosengaars
I also especially loved the color comic up front, although I like when they print them not in the front, so it’s less likely to see the wear and tear from traveling with a paperback and being a generally clumsy human being.
I also especially loved the color comic up front, although I like when they print them not in the front, so it’s less likely to see the wear and tear from traveling with a paperback and being a generally clumsy human being.
September 14, 2023
A very surreal issue which was mostly to my taste although the first one with the toddler was a little much for me. If you have a young child, I'd put a few trigger warnings on that one. Overall though a quality issue of a quality magazine.
December 28, 2022
As always, a fantastic quarterly fiction collection. McSweenys never disappoints!
May 22, 2023
This was an extremely readable issue with an eclectic mix of stories. Simple but effective.
September 25, 2023
Great mixture of stories.
April 15, 2024
Some very good stories in this one!
February 18, 2023
Final two stories, nearly one-third of the book didn't do anything for me. Plus the shorter ones that didn't. There is always next time.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews