Selected Shorts: Great Beginnings with Etgar Keret

This week on Selected Shorts, we’ve got three great stories about fresh starts and new beginnings. The first is Etgar Keret’s “Healthy Start,” which is a part of his collection, Suddenly A Knock on the Door. It starts with a simple premise–a man gets mistaken for someone else at a restaurant. But when he decides to continue the ruse, it becomes a habit, until each day he pretends to be someone else. Next we have a story by Ann Beattie, “Hoodie in Xanadu.” Set in Key West, a place where people go to re-invent themselves, the narrator, Flora, discovers her neighbor is hiding something magical and unexpected behind his door. The final story, “Best Worst American,” by Juan Martinez, is a short-short that turns Walmart into an extraordinary landscape, where a man gets the chance to thank somone who gave him the confidence to start a new life. You can listen to this inspiring program for free over at WNYC, on podcast, on the Selected Shorts site, or the old fashioned way, on your local public radio station. I had a great time recording this show with guest co-host, Etgar Keret, who called into WNYC from Tel Aviv. You can listen to the extended version of my interview with Etgar below, as we discuss his writing process, as well as each of the stories at length, over cups of coffee 5,000 miles apart.

Etgar Keret on loneliness, Kublai Khan, and Walmart:

Selected Shorts: Island Magic

I’ve been on the road, and have fallen behind on my Selected Shorts posts. But wanted to make sure everyone had the chance to listen in to this great program that ran recently, with two amazing stories: “Vaclav & Lena” by Haley Tanner (read by Sarah Steele) and “Swept Away” by T.C. Boyle (read by Rene Auberjonois). Both stories involve islands and magic. Tanner’s “Vaclav & Lena” (recently picked as one of NBA’s  “5 under 35”)  is set on Coney Island, and follows two young friends learning English and training for their first magic show. Boyle’s “Swept Away” travels to the Scottish Isle of Unst, where the wind is so strong it blows cats, cars and young lovers over the edge.  You can listen to these wonderful stories over at WNYC, or by podcast or by scrolling down here on the Selected Shorts website. I also had the chance to do extended interviews with both authors, which you can listen to below. This is my favorite part of doing Selected Shorts–getting the chance to talk with inspiring writers about their process, in depth.

Haley Tanner, on Coney Island, magic tricks, and how she turned this story into her award-winning novel, Vaclav & Lena:

T.C. Boyle, on Scottish accents, the isle of Unst, the importance of being read to, and his new novel, San Miguel:

Boston Noir 2

Out of all of my stories, the one with the longest legs has been “Home Sweet Home.” I first published it in Epoch. From there it was picked for Best American Mystery Stories. Then it appeared in my collection, Animal Crackers. Then it was included in an anthology called Fiction Gallery, put out by Gotham Writers Workshop. And now, it has crawled out of the mist once more, chosen by the good people at Newtonville Books, Jamie Clarke & Mary Cotton, to be included in Boston Noir 2, the latest collection of crime stories based on place, published by the amazing Akashic Books. Special thanks to Dennis Lehane for deeming me worthy to appear alongside Joyce Carol Oates and David Foster Wallace. And long live Pat & Clyde, forever murdered on pot roast night!