November Fiction Recs and More
Like many writers I know, I have been struggling with fiction writing this past week. I fear that my stories are self-indulgent drivel. Worse, I fear that stories in general are useless—or rather, that the only stories that have an effect in this world are broad propaganda which foment rage, divide us, and blind us. I say this even as I acknowledge that I’ve turned to literature for comfort. I’ve been reading poetry. I see beauty in art. But. . . but I wonder how much it matters. My reading picks this month were all chosen before the U.S. presidential election. They are beautiful stories and essays. Some of them are very dark. Some are hopeful. Some ring not only with defiance, but with ferocious burn-the-world-down rage that resonates uncomfortably with me at this moment, when I think that the politics of nihilism have brought my country to this point. I’m sharing these stories, though. Even if I can’t write myself, I can boost other voices. I don’t know what good a