In the July 5 issue of the New Yorker is a wonderful story by my friend, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum.
Sarah has been named one of the 20 best fiction writers under 40 by the New Yorker. It is a prediction, and mostly it turns out to be true. Getting named as such is a great help on that road. And she was already great!
But aside from a little name dropping (Hey! I know someone really cool and successful!) I am urging you to grab a copy of her story, "The Erlking," because of ME!!!!!
Hidden in her delightful story of maternal insecurity and the search for the right place for your child, is a fictional character named "Hilary" who holds forth on preschools. Sarah fact-checked it with me before submission. Was I OK with this characterization of "Hilary" who said something sort of like what I said to her?
I read it. I dimly remembered rattling on about something similar, with just as much forceful opinion and much less eloquence. Because the fictional Hilary is witty, snarky, hilarious, devastating and delightful. Oh, how I aspire to be that fictional Hilary.
I showed Jonathan, and said I wished I could be that way.
"You are," he said.
Aw, shucks.
I guess that is why I married him. He sees a little glitter and brilliance in ordinary me.
And to him it is not even fiction.
4 comments:
You see! You can add that to "A Voyage Around My Name", which I am determined you will write! x
PS I didn't like your last book plug.. will you promise me this one's worth it!!!?!? xxx
i can never promise anything to anyone when it comes to books (which one did you not like?). but this is just a story, not a book. and you can just click on it and read it, right NOW!
i am with jonathan, you ARE, it rang true to me!
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