“Two Ruminations on a Homeless Brother”
by David Means
from the May 1, 2017 issue of The New Yorker.

It has been nearly six years since David Means last had a piece of fiction published in The New Yorker. That was “El Moro,” published back in August 2011. Looking back on our post for that piece (here), I see that I myself never did get what Means was going for (and it looks like several commenters had similar issues). I don’t remember the story at all. However, I do remember the two other short stories we’ve covered on this site, “The Knocking” which I didn’t care for at the time but which I don’t mind now (see here), and “The Tree Line, Kansas, 1934” which I did like (see here).

As a final bit of trivia, last year Means’ novel Hystopia was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize (Lee reviewed it here).

The conversations on these New Yorker posts have been very enjoyable, so thanks to all who participate, lending their insight and energy in invigorating yet kind comments. I look forward to more with this story!

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