Rose of Lebanon - Desmond Hogan: 4.5/10

reads like a story that knows it’s going to be the opener of a lit-journal’s return from hiatus. Lofty descriptions of nothing, references to highbrow things w/o adding much value. Not poorly written, but not well written either. Nostalgia for ??? something? Art and Ireland

Court - Susan Steinberg: 8.5/10

starts off as something I’d consider a 4/10 but rapidly evolves to some depth in a post-modern hip way that executed masterfully. this is the self-aware quirky girly-pop version of a short story i’ve written myself and it’s so cool to see it done well in a completely different style. Fuck yeah dude

Canes - John Oliver Hodges. 8.25/10

holy fuck that was dark. kid prostitutes, one of whom toes the line between Benjy from The Sound and the Fury and just a dumb kid. Disgusting sexual degradation and a kid blinded by love. Shit hurt to read, knowing the feelings of unrequited love for someone throwing ass for someone else, but holy shit the setting is brutal.

Literature Unnatured - Joy Williams. 6.5+0.5

One of the most jaded essays i’ve ever read. Not short fiction, but another hodge podge of name dropping to let us know how well read the author is. But credit where credit is due: of the authors I recognize, her analysis/invocation is apt and her thesis sound. Though I didn’t really care until the end when she got particularly doomy about Nature being the enemy of man (somehow without naming Hobbes) which ended up being incredibly good so i plus half a point for that

Covenanteer - John McManus 8.5/10

I love a Septimus Warren Smith character. Very similar to the guy from 2666, numeralogically obsessed, but far more opinionated. Entertaining and concerning.

Sacco and Vanzetti Must Die! - Mark Binelli: 9/10

Chabonesque. Great dialog, incredible characters, and a super fun setting (gag comics that hate each other only slightly less than they hate Bob Hope who they’re touring with on a V-Day tour for the troops in 1945).

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