McSWEENEY’S ISSUE 28

In eight illustrated books, elegantly held together in a single beribboned case, McSweeney’s 28 explores the state of the fable—those astute and irreducible allegories one doesn’t see so much anymore in our strange new age, when everyone is wild for the latest parable or apologue but can’t find time for anything else. Featuring fable-length work by Daniel Alarcón, Sheila Heti, and Nathan Englander, and different illustrators for each piece, McSweeney’s 28 promises to offer many nights’ worth of fine reading.

Table of Contents::

Poor Little Egg-Boy Hatched in a Shul by Nathan Englander
Meryl Gelernter was peeling eggs at the kitchen sink of the Hempelbrew Synagogue when she peeled an egg that was her son.

The Book and the Girl by Brian Evenson
Once there was a book who loved a little girl.

The Guy Who Kept Meeting Himself by Ryan Boudinot
Peter started meeting older versions of himself when he was six years old.

LaKeisha and the Dirty Girl by Tayari Jones
LaKeisha Shauntelle Anderson was a very lovely girl who owned everything her heart desired, and hers was a heart with quite an appetite.

The Thousands by Daniel Alarcón
There was no moon that first night, and we spent it as we spent our days: your fathers and your mothers have always worked with their hands.

Two Free Men by Sheila Heti
A depressed man and a suicidal man were hanging out near a tall wooden bridge over a muddy ravine.

The Box by Sarah Manguso
A man keeps a locked box in the attic.

Virgil Walker by Arthur Bradford
Imagine Mrs. Walker’s surprise upon giving birth to a squirming octopus instead of the little human baby she had been expecting.