McSweeney's 11: It Can Be Free

Sometimes I enjoy the non-fiction in these volumes more than the stories, and that was true here: the section about giant/colossal squids was the most engaging, though I actually very much liked the inter-story sections of aerials, as well.

This issue of McSweeney's is a beautiful, faux-leather hardbound volume with submissions by regular McSweeney's contributors and established authors. The pieces that I recall were T. C. Boyle's "Blinded By the Light," Alison Smith's "The Specialist," and Brent Hoff's interview with giant squid experts. There's also a powerful story by Joyce Carol Oates, a new submission in Lawrence Weschler's "Convergences" series, and Act II of Denis Johnson's play "Soul of a Whore" (Act I was in issue #9).
Included on the back inside cover is a DVD that includes a dozen or so of the authors reading from their work, a scene from a performance of Johnson's play, "Making of" documentaries, and so on. It's all meant to be a send up of the extra material show more included on many movie DVDs. I don't remember ever watching it. show less