| Title | : | The Paris Review, Issue 246, Winter 2023 |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 219 |
| Publication | : | Published January 1, 2023 |
The Paris Review, Issue 246, Winter 2023 Reviews
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stars for Louise Glück and Ananda Devi
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Ice Blue was great, liked Ahegao.
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Hostess by Fiona McFarlane and the Yu Hua interview were my two favorites. Ahegao made my jaw fall off my head and into the floor. I look forward to reading Louise Gluck's poetry.
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Is it possible to have readers block?
Highlights: Yu Hua, Louise Glück, Tony Tulathimutte, Jamie Quarto -
my first „paris review“:
for prose, i especially liked „the walk book“, „two men, mary“, „ice blue“ and „hostess“. liked the concept of „stump of the world“ (explored both the common concept of „child seeks distance from mother“ as well as uncommon concept „mother seeks distance from child“, which, set in contrast, i found very interesting), the writing and story building just didn‘t really do it for me.
„ahegao“ was a bit to much for my taste (i didn’t like how the „descriptions“ took up such a big part of the story). the ending left me feeling uncomfortable (probably intended, yet not something i like to feel during/after reading, at least not for the whole course of a piece of fiction)
LOVED both of the interviews, introduced me to many new and interesting aspects about writing and the lives of yu hua and louise glück.
the poetry in this one wasn‘t for me, couldn‘t really get into it except for nadja küchenmeister, loved her work.
really liked „“, „compositions“ wasn‘t so much my taste, didn‘t get to me. -
Really liked Hostess. And Two Men, Mary. Ice Blue was good. Ahegao I wasn’t loving but it just became so shocking that I can’t deny I enjoyed it. Didn’t connect to any of the poetry sadly for me. Interviews with fascinating people.
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yu hua and louise glück interviews in the same issue? yes, i WILL treat myself 🤩
honestly mind-blowing ahegao was selected lmao
faves: ahegao (tony tulathimutte); hostess (fiona mcfarlane); two men, mary (jamie quatro); yu hua & louise glück interviews -
3.5. I really enjoyed "Stump of the World" - possibly more than any other story so far - and "Ice Blue", as well as the "Interiors" art series by Claudia Keep, but many of the other stories disturbed me (I didn't even finish "Ahegao"). I can't stand Jamie Quatro.
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i loved stump of the world, read it as if it were a miranda july movie. will be leaning into my obsessions with my full weight like louise gluck said!
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I was so invested in each piece- couldn’t recommend this edition enough. Lively, colorful writing with so much meaning, and the Louise Glück interview, oh sigh.
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Every issue I have has been great!
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Highlights in this one:
Tony Tulathimutte "Ahegao"
Fiona McFarlane "Hostess"
Callie Siskel "Three Poems"
Jamie Quatro "Two Men, Mary" -
Favorite in this issue: “Two Men, Mary” by Jamie Quatro. Want to read more from her.
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A solid issue with really no bad stories/poems. Standouts are Stump of the World, both art sections, and black laundry.
A Walk Book by Sean Thor Conroe – I don’t know much about Fuccboi or its controversies, but I know enough to know I don’t care and that I don’t want to read it. That said, ‘A Walk Book’ is moderately engaging in a voyeuristic sort of way, and not off-putting like Fuccboi obviously was designed to be. 3 stars.
Stump of the World by Madeline Ffitch – Part laser focused and authentic expose on being a single mom of a sullen teenager, part surreal allegory of family dynamics and undiscovered country. Feitch does such a wonderful job merging the two that I almost believed that an adult could become adopted late in life by a grandmother for hire. The faces left all over the house. Faces of different flavors and materials. The raft, first stolen, then making an appearance, like that old TV show Land of the Lost, at the end. Loved every minute of this. 5 stars.
Ahegao by Tony Tulathimutte – Sadly, at the end of this deep exploration into a porn obsessed self-hating and flagellating main character who lives a life of part escapist fantasy and part poorly written unrealistic reality, we devolve into a trite ending that undervalues all of it. Some of this is quite funny. The excess works. The excess isn’t the problem. Nor is the aggressive gay porn. The problem is the structure, the payoff, and the delivery all in one. Kant’s relationship with Julian is never believable. Quite frankly, nothing in this is believable. Kant’s character remained too much a caricature, and a poorly treated one at that. Granted, we are seeing Kant from his own point of view, but there is so little to hold on to that it turns the story into a giant gay penthouse letter. Fail. 2 stars.
Compositions by Marcius Galan – Beautiful. I loved every single one of these. Is every child between the age of 2 and 10 obsessed with rocks and colored stones? Every one I’ve ever met is. Personally, I haven’t really lost my own childlike fascination with them and relive the wonder through my own kids. The erasers too! This is profound stuff. I love it. 5 stars.
Hostess by Fiona McFarlane – A quiet sensory tale robust with place that depicts the primary character, Jill (though not the point of view character) with just enough detail to feel entangled with her and alienated from her. The pov character, a male that doesn’t quite come off, is handled well enough to convey the above re: Jill. After letting it soak awhile, I ended up liking this snapshot of post host living. 3.75 stars.
Ice Blue by Ananda Devi – A stark collection of images with a strong sense of place but lacking a central character to hold on to. I feel the intent here is to make the main character a sort of stand in for the reader, but if that’s the case, it didn’t really work. The connection between seal and woman at the end came off not as surprising but inevitable and I felt lacked the punch the author was shooting for. 3 stars.
black laundry by Nadja Kuchenmeister – Something about this short poem I found mesmerizing. It’s like a death-goth version of Red Wheelbarrow. 4 stars.
Two Men, Mary by Jamie Quatro – I feel similarly about this one as I did reading Hostess. There’s certainly an undercurrent here of deep pain and loss and adventure, but the matter-of-fact method in which it is told puts a sort of sepia filter over it all, cooling it off. In reading these three loosely connected tales I do feel a sort of life of Anna emerge. 3.75 stars. -
Thoughts on the stories and interviews (I'm not very good at reviewing poetry)
The Walk Book: Really interesting log of one person's travels through America and modern vagabondism. I sometimes found the writer's voice to be a little too edgy and annoying for my taste, but I realize that's a personal preference on my end. The periods of introspection really bring the whole thing together and make it transcend just being a travel log 3/5
Stump of the World: This just didn't do it for me. The setting was a hazy mystery which didn't really draw me in and make me want to figure out what was happening and what has happened in this setting. 1/5
Art of Fiction - Yu Hua: I thought this was a really wonderful interview and I enjoyed learning both about Hua's time growing up in China post-cultural revolution and his overall writing process. A fun read: 4/5
Ahegao : Truly a narrator who is inflicted upon the reader. I did not enjoy this piece very much but not in a "ohhh this makes me uncomfortable!" kind of way but in a "alright, I get it, is there anything else or do I just need to listen to this guy go on and on? 1/5
Hostess: What a beauty of a story. Subtle when it wants to be, blunt when it needs to be. I could read McFarlane describe paint drying and probably still enjoy it. 5/5
Art of Poetry - Louise Gluck : RIP Louise Gluck, wish this interview had been better but geez did some of the interviewer's questions just whiff. I'm thinking in particular of questions like "this collection of stories makes me wonder whether you have ever lived in a collective or ashram or commune" to which Gluck replied, "I have never lived in a collective, ashram or commune". 2/5
Ice Blue - This was my second favorite story. A bit odd at times but jeez does this stick the landing in such a beautiful and terrifying way. 4/5
Two Men, Mary - Really well told with characters that just jump off the page in a way that is terrifyingly realistic. A little too short for my taste, just wish I had more time with this one. 4/5
Average Score:
3/5 -
"...to live is to narrate one's experience of suffering joyously." - Yu Hua's interview along with Zheng Xiaoqiong's poem, "Water Becomes Water" and Claudia Keep's paintings were my favorite pieces in this issue.
"Ahegao" by Tony Tulathimutte has a twist ending that makes the reader squirm.
Glück's interview was OK, but probably wouldn't have merited publication if not for her passing.
The other works of prose flirt with dystopia and epiphany to varying degrees, but their inclusion (if not their execution) seemed a bit haphazard. -
订阅的第一期，主要为了读余华和格吕克的采访。余华的这篇感觉他本人很逗，着重谈了活着和许三观卖血记的写作过程。格吕克的采访人问的水平略差，太多总结性的问题了。比较受益的是讲写作的垂直（从绝望到超越）和平行（群体、社会生活和问题）选题。
几篇散文小说：
the Walk Book8/10像是当代青年的on the road，涉及一些对masculinity的反思
stump of the world7/10, ice blue6/10, hostess 5/10这几篇不喜欢太“文学杂志”那种精巧匠气了
Ahegao8/10这篇我很喜欢，讲亚裔宅宅男同与自己的hardcore性癖的关系，关于什么是shame这一点很有意思白人男友只有embarrassment没有shame，可惜结尾太欧亨利了没必要
Two Men, Mary8/10这篇一开始没懂where this is getting最后收束在对于“疯”婆婆的grieve情感很powerful -
The poems in this edition are particularly beautiful, specifically the ones by Alice Notley and Callie Siskel. "Ice Blue" and "Hostess" were both interesting to me on a symbolic level, and I enjoyed reading "The Walk Book," "Ahegao," and "Two Men, Mary." I found almost nothing redeemable about "Stump of the World."
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"Ahegao" by Tony Tulathimutte is one of the freshest and funniest stories I've read in quite some time. So glad to have discovered this author through this edition. The interview with Louise Glück was also very interesting.
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I loved the travel log, and the theme of airports and missed connections. Vibrant and humbling in its scope and depth. Loved the paintings by Claudia Keep.
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Continuing the trend of improved art and poetry and slightly worse short stories vs the Nemens era, at least for my taste. Issues have been steadily improving under Stokes from a rocky start.
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Five stars for "Ahegao" by Tony Tulathimutte.
