If you’re fortunate enough to have been one of my victims over the past few months, you’ll already be aware that I’ve been occupying my time with an incessant rampage of recommending All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews to anything with eyeballs and a pulse. Every now and then, I’ll read a book so … Continue reading On McSweeney’s Publishing, The Genius of Miriam Toews and Jonathan Plombon, and The Use of Humor as a Gateway into Difficult Subject Matter
The Importance of Art in Literature, in Review
Months before I opened Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections (2001), I admired Lynn Buckley’s cover design. On the lower third of the cover – beneath the author’s name in bold, white caps and the title’s textured, orange lettering – a Rockwell inspired scene depicts two boys and the lower half of a woman, whose red nailed … Continue reading The Importance of Art in Literature, in Review
Finding Time to Read for Fun
As I’ve gotten older, busier, and generally more stressed, I’ve noticed something sad about myself: I seldom read for fun anymore. When I was a growing up in the truly riveting hubbub of Morro Bay, California I would make a conscious effort to sit myself down and read a gosh darn novel or even just … Continue reading Finding Time to Read for Fun
A Pet’s Dilemma
I saw an orange cat yesterday, in the field out back. She strolled through the green field with sun shimmering across her fur, with a feline grace that can only belong to satisfaction. Her stride was purposeful, and soon she had walked the length of the field and vanished beyond the horizon. Looking through my … Continue reading A Pet’s Dilemma
Short Story: The View from Earth, Expanded
Let me tell you something about the Horsehead Nebula. It’s what scientists call an interstellar absorption, a configuration of dust, clouds of effervescent smoke holding crystals in the air. It just so happens that those gas clouds managed to fold themselves over into something that, from 1,500 light years away, looks like a horse’s head … Continue reading Short Story: The View from Earth, Expanded
Sudden Fiction: Final Diagnosis
Kellen stood back and admired his work. He had decided that The Lion in the Glass would be his last painting. In the kitchen, his wife Shela was scrambling some eggs in a pan. Her focus was dreamlike, and he snuck up behind her in his bare feet. She jumped just a little, and a … Continue reading Sudden Fiction: Final Diagnosis
Short Fiction: The Pediatrician
Edie Sussman, BFR Staff The small bell above the door rang sharply as Dr. Magellan and an accompanying frozen breeze swept into the waiting room. “Sorry I’m late, traffic was hell this morning.” Her receptionist nodded knowingly. “Have they still not put out that fire out over on the 101?” “Nope. The pyromancy department has … Continue reading Short Fiction: The Pediatrician
Short Story: Street Signs in Sarajevo
To almost all pedestrians, the cobblestone streets were most charming in the lamplight of evening. They were reminiscent of grander cities, or of grander times for the once triumphant city of Sarajevo. But, for Ethan, the darkness could not be illuminated by wane streetlights, and searching for street names and signs of the bus terminal … Continue reading Short Story: Street Signs in Sarajevo
Short Fiction: Sudden Intake
Edging her way along the baseboard, the spider looked for a new place to nest. After having her previous home destroyed, she needed a safer location. She began the ascent up the wall, finding no convenient holes in the corners of the room. Reaching the windowsill, she considered making the space underneath the window her … Continue reading Short Fiction: Sudden Intake
Short Fiction: I Said Hello
I have a talent for recognizing faces in the crowd while remaining a face in the crowd. They stand out more than I do in my tie-dye and Hawaiian shirts or my Frida Kahlo socks. I see the flags flying over their heads; the staff marks where our paths have crossed, and the colors mark … Continue reading Short Fiction: I Said Hello
BERKELEY FICTION REVIEW 