Fiction
From Nomad Siesta
by Débora Vázquez, translated from the Spanish by Kit MaudeNo one saw us as we crossed the street. The green iron gate of the house opposite was tall with a bronze lock and bolt but it wasn’t heavy and opened without a sound. The lights in the first floor windows were off; it was night-time. I cupped my hands so my brother could use them as steps to reach the balcony.
From The Factory
by Hiroko Oyamada, translated from the Japanese by David BoydAs I opened the basement-level door, I thought I could smell birds. “Hello, I’m here for a two o’clock interview,” I said to the overweight woman seated under a sign that read Print Services Reception. Without looking up, she nodded and lifted the receiver. I watched her mouth the words. Your two o’clock is here. Her lipstick had come off in places.
Magnetic Sleep
By Radha VatsalLittle Sister brushed the teapot with her fingertips. It had been a mistake to brew the leaves early. Father—which was what they all called her husband—didn’t believe in reheating so the entire preparation would have to be discarded if the physician didn’t arrive within the next five to ten minutes. She adjusted the sandwiches on the tray. Chicken, cucumber, liver.
inSerial: part eleven
The Mysteries of Paris
by Eugène Sue, translated from the French by Robert Bononno
The following scene transpired in a brilliantly lit salon draped entirely in red. Rodolphe, dressed in a long dressing gown of black velvet, which further augmented his paleness, was seated before a large table covered with a rug.
Chapter 12 from NADA
by Jean-Patrick Manchette, translated from the French by Donald Nicholson-SmithIn Ivry, at 2:00 p.m., Épaulard took possession of the green Jaguar and the paperwork. The machine dated from 1954. Its suspension was a horror, and acid escaping from successive batteries had made holes in the partition between the engine bay and the interior of the car.
The Road to Golgonooza
By T. Motley, Cyndi Rizzo, Stevens Valmor, and Cookie MotowanT. Motley is the author of The Road to Golgonooza, a fake jam comic.
As the World Burns
By Tom MotleyTom Motley is a cartoonist, illustrator, and educator. His publications include Tragic Strip (a monthly strip in the Brooklyn Rail), The Golden Ass, The One Marvelous Thing, and contributions to the indie anthology Cartozia Tales. He teaches cartooning at the School of Visual Arts and illustration at Pratt.
In Conversation
New Routes in Fiction: KIMBERLY KING PARSONS with Alec Niedenthal
Kimberly King Parsons’s first book, Black Light, is aptly titled. Each story reflects light out of darkness. Equally, these stories find rot and provocative weirdness in the well-lit subdivisions of Texan America—middle-class parents stand at one or two removes from reality; hotels become heavens to the down-at-heel; children bully and are bullied and proceed by means of fictions.
