Friday, August 15, 2025

While Democrats regroup, they need to focus on more than just what it takes to win the next election

›
There are a couple of intellectual arguments out there that make me uncomfortable, because they seem to make at least a halfway convincing c...
Tuesday, August 12, 2025

No Free Road Snacks: "Mobilization" by Allegra Hyde (O.Henry Anthology)

›
Why does the first-person plural narrative voice so often give summaries of habitual actions rather than declarative sentences in the simple...
Sunday, August 10, 2025

He who goes down to Sheol does not come up: "The Dark" by Jess Walter

›
For much of "The Dark" by Jess Walter, the title seems totally inappropriate, because the mood of the story is anything but. Doug ...
Friday, August 8, 2025

The past is full of blame: "The Room-Service Waiter" by Tom Crewe

›
First, a terribly reductive summary of the story:  Charles Bisset was a young man working at the Le Meurice Hotel in the 1920s when the by-t...
Saturday, August 2, 2025

Where review, criticism, and analysis collide: "The Paper Artist" by E.K. Ota (O.Henry Anthology)

›
Although this blog will mix in plenty of review, I generally prefer criticism and analysis. Maybe these last two feel more like "real...
Saturday, July 26, 2025

Commemorating a sad day with a critical contribution to world culture

›
This morning, we had to put our beloved dog Manley down. He was well over sixteen, although we don't know his exact age, and after surpa...
1 comment:
Friday, July 25, 2025

I guess I'm being fair to this mediocre Covid story: "The Honor of Your Presence" by Dave Eggers (O.Henry anthology)

›
It's taken me a while to post on the next entry in the 2024 Best Short Stories  collection, mostly because I wasn't sure I was being...