The Paris Review, Issue 215, Winter 2015 by Lorin Stein

The Paris Review, Issue 215, Winter 2015 Reviews

• 
  Julie

  How could one ever read a Raymond Carver story in the same way again?
• 
  Troy Ketch

  Good stories in this issue. The serialized novel "The Throwback Special" is actually quite good. The short stories were interesting. I really enjoyed the interview with the Sterns, and found Lish amusing in his arrogance.
• 
  Olesya Lyuzna

  Overall a solid issue, loved the slightly more off-beat interviews (although, in my experience, the Paris Review interviews rarely disappoint regardless of who is being interviewed).
  
  Some favourites:
  
  Andrew Martin - With the Christopher Kids
  David Szalay - Lascia Amor e siegui Marte (this one made me order his short story collection)
  Christopher Sorrentino - Apparition of Danhoff
  Anne Carson - Salon
• 
  A-ron

  This was an Ok issue. Most of it was pretty good, but little blew me away. The leading story, "Found Objects by Nell Freudenberger was a great exploration of life in the city and how that environment effect how we interact with people. "With the Christopher kids" by Andrew Martin was so funny and sad...I absolutely loved this tale of codependency, worth the whole book. David Szalay's selection was good, but I liked it less than the ones from the earlier issues. It tells the tale of Danish tabloid writer and irony and hipocrisy of that world. The interviews were interesting as always. Gordon Lish was such an over-the-top asshole, that made it a lot of fun to read. The Biel stories and Lydia Davis's emulation was interesting enough, but I've read better by Lydia Davis. Usually her offerings have a bit more humor.
• 
  Miranda Tsang

  My favorite bits of this Paris Review were:
  Nell Freudenberger, Found Objects (I have no idea what happens at the end here, but I enjoyed the story. What ever becomes of the racist little girl?)
  Peter Bichsel, Two Stories (translated by Lydia Davis. Very good stories, even in translation! Someone new to read!)
  Interview with Jane and Michael Stern (just really funny)
  Andrew Martin, With the Christopher Kids (I liked the writing)
  
  The Christopher Sorrentino story appealed to me but the narrator's voice felt like a man, somehow.
  
  Love Diebenkorn, the hometown hero, so that's always a fun time.
  
  
• 
  Erik Eckel

  Occasionally The Paris Review publishes a short story or selection that simply justifies the entire year's subscription. Such was true reading David Szalay's Lascia Amor e siegui Marte. I found the story relevant and appealing, potentially because I spent years editing and publishing material and continue authoring a technical column. But I suspect there was more at work; I also appreciated the protagonist's professional struggles and pressures. I so enjoyed the story I made my spouse read and then discuss the short story's wonderful undertones and lessons.
• 
  Michael Kitchen

  Found Objects by Neil Freudenberger (4)
  With the Christopher Kids by Andrew Martin (5)
  Lascia Amor e siegui Marte by David Szalay (4)
  Two Stories by Peter Bischsel (3)
  The Art of Editing #2: Gordon Lish (3)
  Apparition of Dahoff by Christopher Sorrentino (0 - abandoned)
  After Reading Peter Bichsel by Lydia Davis (0 - abandoned)
• 
  Taylor Napolsky

  I liked most of the stories, particularly the ones by Nell Freudenberger and Chris Bachelder. The interview with Gordon Lish was an informative, fun read, and the majority of the poetry was nice too.
• 
  Jeff

  Good issue, though I'm over "The Throwback Special"