“The Plaza”
by Rebecca Makkai
from the May 8, 2023 issue of The New Yorker

A month or so ago I read and really enjoyed Rebecca Makkai’s latest novel, I Have Some Questions for You. I thought it was great, and I’ve been excited to keep exploring her work, particularly The Great Believers. How nice to have a chance to read something new so soon, though!

Here is how it begins:

In both 1946 and 1947, Margie Bixby was crowned Trout Queen of the Upper Delaware River, an honor she lost in 1948 only because it wouldn’t do for the daughter of the newspaper editor—the editor of the paper that sponsored the pageant—to win three times. Still, she was the undisputed local beauty, a striking girl with a stronger resemblance to the Modiglianis in the library art books than to a dish-soap model. She wasn’t even blond, to the annoyance of those who hopefully lemoned their hair each summer. She had hair like her late mother’s, like dark water you could drown in.

I hope you are starting what will become a beautiful May! Please share your thoughts below!

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