Fiction
Kids
By Tassity JohnsonOur original short story this month features three characters caught in a love-triangle, engaged in a violent struggle. The story unfurls in one sentence, the form of “Kids” perfectly mirroring the breathless desperation of its characters.
from Last Resort
By Andrew LipsteinLast Resort traces the anxious spiraling path of a writer who has lifted a plot from his friend. Trapped in a cycle of inauthenticity and need for external validation, Caleb becomes a master of rationalization and bargaining as he transforms his friend's story into a major novel. Caleb chiefly concerns himself with the public-facing side of writing (readings, photoshoots, parties, reviews) and lacks the daemon that defines an artist—Last Resort is a kunstlerroman if the kunst were limited to promotion. Thankfully, Andrew Lipstein suffers from none of his characters' limitations. There's a line in this excerpt, "But flaws need sympathy..." that does a lot to explain why Lipstein's book is such a success.
