story: “Harvest” author: Danielle Evans year: 2010 from before you suffocate your own fool self where: Quarantine note: When I began this story, I thought it was going to be a first-person plural POV, but it surprised me into shifting into first-person singular. a line: “Every time I call my house, even those times when I am calling because my mother has forgotten to pick me up or call me back or send me something necessary, […]
story: “There’s a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head with an Umbrella” author: Fernando Sorrentino year: 1970 where: the Ikea kitchen table note: A must-read. a line: “All he does is hit me. He accompanies me in all my acts–even the most intimate ones. I remember, in the beginning, that the blows kept me from sleeping; I now believe it would be impossible to sleep without them.” theme(s): Self-harm, Self-esteem
story: “Scenes of Passion and Despair” author: Joyce Carol Oates year: 2019 where: Abu Dhabi, kitchen table note: The scene in the tiny grocery store is the best part. a line: “It was only the end of June and it seemed to her the summer had lasted years already. How to survive the summer?” & “The lover will not even grow old: he will explode into molecules as into a mythology.” theme(s): Adultery, love, sex
story: “Don’t Know Where, Don’t Know When” author: Karen Shepard year: 2017 where: Car from Dubai note: 9/11 story a line: “She simultaneously believes herself to be in no way enviable and the most interesting person in the room.” theme(s): Adultery, grief, tragedy
Samantha Neugebauer 