(The short story “Colorin Colorado” by Camille Bordas appeared in the July 10 & 17, 2023 issue of The New Yorker.)
(SPOILERS AHEAD!)
Photograph by Ryan Frigillana for The New Yorker
I loved it.
It was much better than The Lottery.
I going to read it, again and again.
(The short story “Valley of the Moon” by Paul Yoon appeared in the July 3rd, 2023 issue of The New Yorker.)
(SPOILERS should just be expected.)
Illustration by Dadu Shin
“Valley of the Moon” is an exquisite short story by Paul Yoon. Writing a good short story is hard enough, but writing a short story that feels lived in by complicated and authentic people, is pretty damn tough. Yoon takes it a step farther, and creates a story that speaks to the cycles in life, and how meaning remains elusive for some people.
The story is about Tongsu, a one-eyed man who, after the end of the Korean War, returns to the valley and home he was born in. His family is long gone, but Tongsu repairs the home, and makes his way as a substance farmer in the valley. There is a river that runs through the valley, and a set of rocks that as a child Tongsu was told the moon emerges and crashes down every night – only to repeat the process the next evening. One night, by these rocks, Tongsu is attacked by a man, who Tongsu kills out of self-defense, and proceeds to bury by these stones. Years pass and two orphans, and boy and a girl, from a local church come to live with him. Years pass, and then one day a man passes through the valley looking for his uncle that went missing, but Tongsu is able to send the man on his way without raising any suspicions. Not long after that, one of the pigs dies, and Tongsu beats the boy for it. Soon the children run away, leaving Tongsu alone again. Years pass, and the story picks up with the girl, Eunhae, now living in a city and working in a hotel. She is given Tongsu’s phone number through the church, and she calls him. The reconnect, though never discussing the past, and she decides to visit him back in the valley. Things happen, but you can read about it.
What I loved about this story, and I just latched on to it, was the prose of this piece. It’s third person, with a detached and unemotional way of presenting the story. There is a “matter of fact-ness” to it, almost a simplicity, that keeps to story moving forward, but it never hinders the emotions. I found myself tensing up as the stranger arrived looking for his missing uncle, and also a pure shock that Tongsu would snap one day and beat the boy. And when the conclusion of the story arrives, still in this simple and direct prose, I was moved at how well these pieces played together, and brought me to a feeling that I had truly lived through this experience with these characters.
And that is the real trick with this story – creating that feeling of cycle, and continuation. I loved how this story was making the point, ever so slyly, how one decision creates new decisions, and how certain choices can never be undone. I also like how this was a story about fading memories, and what we chooses to hold on to, and let go of. All of it coming back to the idea that life continues on, repeating the cycle.
“Valley of the Moon” by Paul Yoon is the type of short story that makes me love short stories. This is a world that is different from my own, I am presented with characters that are realistic and complicated. There is a plot and a climax that feels organic with the story that’s being told. It all feels so easy and simple, and I know creating a story like this isn’t easy or simple.
(The short story “Different People” by Clare Sestanovich appeared in the January 30th, 2023 issue of The New Yorker.)
(SPOILERS ahead!)
Illustration by Jillian Tamaki
I have been trying for some time to come up with a good introduction for this piece, but I have decided that the best way to open this is to say that I really, deeply enjoyed reading “Different People” by Clare Sestanovich. So much so that I just want to start talking about it.
This was such a smart, honest, tactile story which allowed me to meet and spend time with three characters. This was a story where I enjoyed the journey it was on, and when the conclusion of the piece arrived, I was completely satisfied with how it all tied together, and ended the way that I knew it had to. This is the type of story that inspires me to write. It’s about people living their lives, and it is so cleverly constructed that the story never feels forced, or artificially fabricated.
The story is about Gilly and her parents, Peter and Lisa, their divorce, how all of them change because of the divorce, and how Gilly begins to see her parents as people. But, it’s also about how one should beware of what they wish for. Or, it might also be about the need for security even as the world shifts under one’s feet. Or it might be about how one has to always grow and learn. Maybe it’s about how people hide in plain sight. Maybe. Maybe not.
This story is divided up into six sections. Each of the sections are paced well, leading to a rise in the action, and then if not ending with a small climax of the section, it concludes with a “button.” And these buttons do a wonderful double duty of enlightening us on the characters in these sections, but also foreshadow upcoming events. Yet, this foreshadowing is so slight and sly that is seamlessly exists with the flow of the story, and doesn’t reek of a plot point.
Also, I so enjoyed the very smart choices that Sestanovich made to develop her theme. I appreciated that the narrator doesn’t dwell often in the internal thoughts of any character, and allows actions to do the telling. Even a simple choice of having the parents referred to by their first names, which never puts the reader in the frame of thinking of these two people as parents first – Peter and Lisa remain adults. Thus, the reader sees the world as Gilly does – observing these two adults and how they react to this situation. All choices made by a writer that understands the craft of storytelling.
I have read this story three, maybe four times now; it’s like a song I like listening to on repeat. I still find these three characters compelling, and hope the best for them, if that makes sense. It’s also nice to be surprised by a well written story.
It’s that time of year again, when I post the “best of” of my blog for 2023.
As in previous years, I am presenting the most popular posts in terms of views, and only the top 5. Sure, I have a few blogs that I put up that are dear to my heart, but I prefer this format as it showcases what the readers were most interested in.
As such, this list owes its existence to you, the followers, viewers, and the friends of this blog. This year had the largest amount of views I had ever received. In fact, if you added together the previous five years together, that total would still be smaller than all the views for 2023.
So, thank you, all of you, for spending your time on this little blog.
And enjoy The Best of 2023!
