Comments for The Mookse and the Gripes

Comment on T. Coraghessan Boyle: “Los Gigantes” by jerry

jerry — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:22:15 +0000

agree with Aaron far from his best work but I’m glad to see Boyle back in the magazine.

Comment on John O’Hara: Appointment in Samarra by Sheila Engh

Sheila Engh — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:46:49 +0000

I’ve been reading John O’Hara for about 55 years. I read many of his short stories before ever reading a novel and the first novel I read was A Rage to Live. The novels simply aren’t as good as the short stories. But the short stories are great. I mean “great” as in very, very, very good, not “great” as in “wow, cool”.

I think he is much neglected and ought to be better know now, or at least his work should be. He was a jerk, himself. But then, so was Leo Tolstoy.

Comment on T. Coraghessan Boyle: “Los Gigantes” by Aaron

Aaron — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:50:24 +0000

Not Boyle’s best work, but as an author, he’s got this ability to write convincingly and fluidly about so many different topics that it hardly matters. It’s a passable story that’s either being Swiftian in its seriousness (toward the idea of eugenics) or — and I lean more on this possibility — a tale about a too-tall man and a too-small woman finding happiness for the future in between extremes.

I don’t doubt that Boyle means to mock eugenics on some level, but I’ve always found him more character-driven than satirical, and that extends to his humanized giant here, who starts out depressed and gradually seizes the first chance he gets for actual (not artificial) happiness. I also think that Boyle didn’t flesh out much of the supporting incidents, so hasty was he to get to the last part (which I suspect is the seed for this story, but hey, I don’t read the Book Bench stuff before I jot down my thoughts).

As usual, you can find my fuller (and more stream-of-conscious-y) breakdown of the story here: http://bit.ly/A6jjJ6

Comment on Alice McDermott: “Someone” by reba

reba — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:49:03 +0000

I totally agree with Aaron.

Comment on Roberto Bolaño: “Labyrinth” by mehbe

mehbe — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:59:24 +0000

Good enough to keep me pleasurably entertained. And, in case people didn’t catch this – the photo is credited to a character in the story.

Comment on Alice McDermott: “Someone” by Jon

Jon — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:10:26 +0000

You know, this is really odd–I find myself evenly divided between the Aaron and Ken “camps.” While reading the story, a part of me wanted to be off doing something else, a part of me appreciated the general milieu being described, and the implied understanding of what it means to want someone (anyone?) special in your life.

The one part of the narrative that rang sloppy to me was the predictable drama of the girl putting on her best clothes, “not being sure what she hoped for,” and then getting dumped. That felt like a “Sex and the City” plot-line to me.

Otherwise my response makes me feel unsure of my abilities as a reader (?), or just conflicted about something in the story (?).

Comment on Milton Rokeach: The Three Christs of Ypsilanti by Max Cairnduff

Max Cairnduff — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:02:59 +0000

I’ve heard about this. Human experimentation without consent. Deeply problematic.

I think it was the New Statesman that also reviewed the book, and talked a bit about these cases. Rokeach appears to have gone far beyond the needs of the patients, and in doing so ceases to be a doctor to them. It sounds interesting, but ethically bankrupt.

Comment on Alice McDermott: “Someone” by jerry

jerry — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:14:36 +0000

I am with Ken on this one..I thought it a great story..maybe the best I’ve read in TNY in over a year or more.

It will be a long time before i forget the tears running down the blind man’s face or the question “who’s going to love me..?”

Comment on César Aira: An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter by leroyhunter

leroyhunter — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:28:28 +0000

My latest taste of Aira, and I think my favourite so far. He writes in such a break-neck, infectious fashion that I feel I’ve read a much longer book about Rugendas then the 87 pages that actually exist.

I see ND have a new one out imminenetly, albeit not translated by Chris Andrews? How I Became A Nun is next for me I think.

Comment on Alice McDermott: “Someone” by Ken

Ken — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:57:26 +0000

I totally disagree. I thought this was masterful. Sure, the coming-of-age narrative and the Irish East Coast Catholic milieu are time-worn elements but I was amazed at the stylistic mastery here. As with Alice Munro, I find myself fascinated with the type of thing that on mere story description alone I would never want to read-an old woman reminiscing about sex and romance way long ago. What makes this great is her amazing sensual descriptive palette-smells, touches, the plays of light etc. She completely evokes private memories and subjectivity. As for Alice being stupid, I’d say she’s about what you might expect from a sheltered girl very long ago in a far more conservative age. I found her obsession to be exactly that: obessions aren’t well-thought out or reasonable. That’s why they’re obsessions.