Tue, August 26, 2008

Considering how many McSweeney's issues I haven't found the time to open, it was a pleasant change of pace to have one I could read cover to cover (to cover to cover to...) in one sitting. The issue sets out to explore the time-tested fable format by creating some new ones. The result is eight tiny books, each containing one illustrated short story.

You don't see new fables around that often – the only thing that comes close in my memory was Spielberg's The Terminal – although plenty of short stories from previous McSweeney's collections have grazed the boundaries of fable territory. It's a tough balance: it's easy for a fable to feel unfamiliar and archaic, but strip away all its conventions and its impact is lost. Our postmodern times, awash with irony, leave little room for the simple sincerity of The Giving Tree.

Not all of these were my cup of tea, but it made for an interesting hour of reading.

Virgil Walker

by Arthur Bradford

A kooky fish out of water story, with the best illustrations of the whole bunch (these by Jon Adams). On the first page, a young woman gives birth to an octopus, and it kind of goes from there. Part of a good fable is a good full-circle ending, and there's nothing lacking in that department.

The Guy Who Kept Meeting Himself

by Ryan Boudinot

The theme of this one is pretty familiar, but it's handled in a nice way, and it keeps the mystical elements at arm's length so it's never clear how this is happening to Peter, only how he reacts to it. I found the middle a little dull, but it wraps up nicely.

The Box

by Sarah Manguso

The underlying plot of this one reminded me a little of George Saunders's The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil – a sort-of fable, and a book I hated without exception. But Manguso handles things with a much lighter touch, and she builds cleverly to a conclusion that left me wanting more.

The Book and the Girl

by Brian Evenson

For some stretches, this story feels like a straight retread of The Giving Tree (that sucker just keeps giving!) but I liked it a lot. Looming around the edges of the action is what appears to be a nuclear holocaust – which feels unnecessary. But, if I'm reading it right (and there's no guarantee of that), the idea of a girl on the run with a bundle of knowledge reminded me of the short story at the end of Douglas Adams's Last Chance to See, which is my favorite fable of all time.

LaKeisha and the Dirty Girl

by Tayari Jones

Another story of a girl and her book, but this one couldn't be more different. I struggled to find the message among a few competing statements, but LaKeisha's flighty materialism was entertaining.

Two Free Men

by Sheila Heti

The setup – a society in which freedom is so important that you must never commit to anything – is tantalizing, but quickly peters out into a fairly humdrum mix of The Gift of the Magi and the theme song from Friends.

The Thousands

by Daniel Alarcón

I loved the title of this one, but the story trades heavily on that sort of inscrutably opaque metaphor that usually bothers me about fables. It's hard to guess what the message is meant to be – but if I guessed right, it's not one that captivates me. There may be a passably interesting statement in here about identity, but don't take my word for it.

Poor Little Egg-Boy Hatched in a Shul

by Nathan Englander

I knew from the cover I wouldn't like this one much. It's not that bad, but it's very goofy and I think I was faintly hoping it would be something closer to Tim Burton's tales of Stain Boy. It's just as weird, but not as engaging.

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