What were you reading in 1995?

Picked up a used copy of T.C. Boyle’s story collection After the Plague (2001) for next to nothing a while back.  Sixteen stories, all previously published in The New Yorker, Paris Review, Esquire, GQ, etc.  It’s curious how old-fashioned these stories seem now.  In the last 10-15 years there has been so much prominent experimentation in the genre that has pushed the boundaries of the genre quite far.  Not that all the experiments have been successful, but they have been interesting for the most part.  These stories were initially published mostly in the 1990’s I presume, and they do show their age.

Bad boy?  Not really.  Not at all, actually.

 What might have seemed adventurous then is now old hat.  Form is very traditional.  No prominent dialect play or time shifting here.  Even point of view is very straightforward. Nothing post-modern in the least. The language is everyday and easy to read, the subject matter non-controversial by today’s standards.  The ideas are interesting but treatment is a little clunky and heavy-handed.  Crafted but predictable.

I especially enjoyed ‘Rust’, ‘Achates McNeil’, and ‘My Widow’. For the most part the stories avoid the overwritten ‘240 volts where 12 would have done nicely, thank you’ approach in many of his novels.  There is some subtlety and grace here.  Take it to the beach.  You’ll smile here and there and be grateful.