{"id":24097,"date":"2018-05-28T11:36:57","date_gmt":"2018-05-28T15:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/?p=24097"},"modified":"2018-05-28T11:40:05","modified_gmt":"2018-05-28T15:40:05","slug":"david-gilbert-fungus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/2018\/05\/28\/david-gilbert-fungus\/","title":{"rendered":"David Gilbert: “Fungus”"},"content":{"rendered":"

[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” menu_anchor=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” parallax_speed=”0.3″ video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” overlay_color=”” video_preview_image=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” padding_right=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_position=”all” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=””][fusion_imageframe image_id=”20947″ style_type=”none” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align=”none” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” alt=”” link=”http:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews” linktarget=”_self” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=””]http:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Header-2-1-e1493098728843.jpg[\/fusion_imageframe][fusion_title margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”” id=”” size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=””]<\/p>\n

“Fungus”<\/strong><\/span>
\nby David Gilbert<\/span>
\nfrom the\u00a0June 4 & 11, 2018 issue of\u00a0The New Yorker<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

[\/fusion_title][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” class=”” id=””]<\/p>\n

\"\"[fusion_dropcap boxed=”no” boxed_radius=”” class=”” id=”” color=”#003366″]T[\/fusion_dropcap]he 2018 Fiction Issue of\u00a0The New Yorker<\/em> is out, featuring stories by Lu Yang (see here<\/a>), Karen Russell (see here<\/a>), and David Gilbert.<\/p>\n

It hasn’t been too long since we last saw David Gilbert in\u00a0The New Yorker<\/em>. “The Sightseers” was published last November, and the commenters here were very mixed, some finding it just okay, some loving it (see the post here<\/a>). It doesn’t appear he’s leaving the world of money and commercialism and corporatism in “Fungus.” Here’s how it opens:<\/p>\n

The insurance check came in the mail. From Geico. With its big-eyed lizard mascot. A Cockney gecko. As though disaster should appeal to ironic children. There are no geckos in Portland, Oregon\u2014or in East London, for that matter. Not their natural habitat. But there are geckos in South Carolina. Andrew remembered them. In the winter they would sneak indoors and hide near curtains, frozen like novelty rubber until roused, and then such speed. Of course the goal was to catch one, to hold it in your palms, a brief warm home, until boredom set in, after which you\u2019d release it onto the porch. The crueller boys did worse. With tennis racquets. With windups into trees followed by whoops. Geckos lose their tails if captured endwise, probably their most famous trait. Autotomy is the term, Greek for \u201cself-severing,\u201d which Andrew had misread last week as \u201cserving.\u201d Self-serving? No, no, se-ver<\/em>-ing, as in divide by cutting. Certainly an effective means of survival. To lose what has been caught. But why a gecko should come to represent an insurance company baffled him, beyond the obvious wordplay, which seemed weak even for advertising and was outdone only by the Aflac Duck.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I look forward to your thoughts on this story (and all of the others in the Fiction Issue!). Please share below!<\/p>\n

[\/fusion_text][fusion_builder_row_inner][fusion_builder_column_inner type=”1_2″ layout=”1_2″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”0″ border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding_top=”” padding_right=”” padding_bottom=”” padding_left=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” center_content=”no” last=”no” min_height=”” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all”][fusion_text columns=”” column_min_width=”” column_spacing=”” rule_style=”default” rule_size=”” rule_color=”” class=”” id=””]<\/p>\n