The issue is a big format hardcover designed to look like a thick volume from the front. The idea is carried out on the interior pages so that each page resembles a book cover with a different illustrated binding bordering each piece. A bold effort but didn't really work for me....
Some big name writers in this one and a section containing five pieces from Kenyan writers, including a striking memoir from artist Richard Onyango featuring a number of his vibrant paintings. The big discovery for me was the booklet containing four chapters from John Sayles epic novel, "A Moment in the Sun." The excerpted chapters focus on the character Hod as he naively tries to strike it rich in the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. ( )

Mostly a miss for me, though the introductory notes on the state of the publishing industry were very welcome, and the excerpt from John Sayles' "A Moment in the Sun" was quite good. ( )

Jess Walter, Jonathan Franzen, Joyce Carol Oates . . . Oh yeah. The Kenyan fiction was hit or miss for me.
But the very fact that McSweeneys exists as a quarterly makes me heart go pitter pat. ( )

This is a book about Kenya, character, nature and society. The stories tend to cluster around these issues.

The most obvious examples of the cluster are the work by Jess Walter, John Hyduk, J. Malcolm Garcia and Etgar Keret which deal explicitly with social systems and the perils/pitfalls of employment or lack of it. Joyce Carol Oates and Nelly Reifler both contribute pieces that deal with the animal world, while Joe Meno's piece connects the animal with the social via the concept of passion. Alcoholism connects work by Billy Kahora and Kevin Moffett, and the nature of character is deftly handled by Jonathan Franzen and Nelly Reifler. Among the Kenyan pieces, Richard Onyango's is a real stand out both visually and verbally. Of the remaining, pieces by Binyavanga Wainaina and Annette Lutivini Majanja give real insight into Kenyan life. Yvonne Adhiambo Owour's piece, while possibly important in terms of Kenyan political history, left me feeling that it didn't quite work, technically.

The standout piece for me is 'Cheesus Christ', by Etgar Keret, which is like seeing the whole world in a tiny but beautiful Swiss watch.

The book itself is a work of art. It features a trompe l'oeil cover which, from certain angles, makes it look like there is a second book laying on top of the actual one. Inside, the lovely border illustrations reflect aspects and themes of each story. Unfortunately, due to the weight of the first four chapters of a free John Sayles, the cover tends to come away at the binding - but one often has to suffer in order to be beautiful. ( )

Part of the appeal of McSweeney's quarterly review is that you just never know what to expect. This was one of their more "traditional" issues, and it was a great one! Filled to the brim with pieces of work by amazingly talented people, I read this all the way through from cover to cover. Of course some of the pieces appealed to me more than others: Jess Walter's "Statistical Abstract for My Hometown, Spokane, Washington" (a "list" of 51 things about Spokane, some very factual, some very humorous, some of which movingly portray what it's like to live down the street from a battered women's shelter) and Nelly Reifler's "The Grove" (about a rabbit who can read the feelings (thoughts?) of everything around him) were my particular favorites. I wasn't sure what to expect from the "Five New Stories from Kenya"--and although it wasn't my favorite part of the issue, each story was well-written, engaging, and an eye-opening look at a culture I don't get to see very often. A great issue from a GREAT publication. I can't wait for the next one! ( )