McSweeney's Issue 30 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern) (Paperback)

~ Dave Eggers (Editor)
Key Phrases: reception desk phone rings, Mad Dog, Out of the Rain, Foothill Boulevard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Featuring new work by Wells Tower, Michael Cera, and Etgar Keret, along with as always a bevy of lesser-known but nonetheless excellent writers investigating everything from mental hospitals to sentient mists, and possibly some kind of poster, Issue 30 warrants every ounce of attention and industry you'll give it, even if you are very important and your time is valuable--even if the fate of nations rests on your weary shoulders. You should still read Issue 30.

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Product Details Paperback: 200 pages Publisher: McSweeney's (March 3, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 1934781223 ISBN-13: 978-1934781227 Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,833 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
reception desk phone rings

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Mad Dog, Out of the Rain, Foothill Boulevard, Diamond Aces, Time Counters, Carroll Silver, True Love, Oak Hill, Blue Angels, Almond White, Comeback Club, Prep Writing, Old Crow

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	61% buy the item featured on this page: McSweeney's Issue 30 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern) 4.0 out of 5 stars (2) $10.20
	11% buy McSweeney's Issue 31 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern) 4.5 out of 5 stars (2) $16.32
	11% buy McSweeney's Issue 29 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern) 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $16.32
	9% buy McSweeney's Issue 32 (Mcsweeney's Quarterly Concern) $16.32

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews 5 star:    (0) 4 star:  (2) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 3 of 3 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars An Ugly Book of Solid Shorts, March 12, 2009 By  SORE EYES (Boulder/Wellington) - See all my reviews The trend of late with McSweeney's is that the better the edition looks, the less content inside. Edition 30 isn't pretty and not one of the more "collectable" editions from an artistic perspective, but it's meaty and full of good stories that are solid and less sarcastic and flippant in tone than many of the McSweeney's collections. The characters are still very unusual, but the writing is less self-aware and showy. If you like McSweeney's sarcastic, some of that is still there in stories like "The Beginning of a Plan". But that sort of thing pales in comparison to the solid writing and character development in the excellent "Pine Cone" , "A Further Interpretation of Real Life Events" and "Retreat". Stories included are: Bill Cotter- Pfaff II Nick Ekkixogloy- Stowaways Kevin Moffett- Further Interpretation of Real Life Events Etgar Keret-Bad Karma Shelly Oria- The Beginning of a Plan Michael Cera- Pinecone Carson Mell-Diamond Aces Matei Visniec-Madness J. Malcolm Garcia-Cuts Catherine Bussinger- Foothill Boulevard Wells Tower-Retreat An edition worth buying if you're looking for a few hours of solid reading. 3 of 4 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Further Interpretation, May 10, 2009 By  Matt M. Martin "No, One" (Fort Collins, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    The art: This issue is pretty basic, which is on purpose, as it's a throwback issue meant to look like the first McSweeney's. This may be artistic choice or editorial laziness but who cares anyway, because the McS.' art has lately been superb and the stories in this one are over 80% solid. The writing: Issue 30 has the just absolutely-wow-wonderful "Retreat" by Wells Tower, which unfortunately causes all other stories to pale in comparison, but Kevin Moffett's and Shelly Oria's stories are also standouts, the first a fun and clever metafictional account about an author who's outdone in literary journals by his nonwriter father, the second a sharp idea about stopping and starting time--an idea that's written with the pedantic accuracy of science fiction. It's not just an idea, though, but a strong story around an idea, and has some terrific lines. "Pinecone" by Michael Cera is a lot of fun, an effortlessly readable story even more enjoyable for not being at all "literary." There are only two duds, those by Nick Ekkizogloy and Catherine Bussinger, the first a dull nonstarter, the second an out-of-place exercise in obnoxious sass and clownish characters that's less and less funny the more it strains to be. The other five stories are all solid, potent and effective--an overall strong collection, and another winner.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: McSweeney's (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934781223
• ISBN-13: 978-1934781227
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,833 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Ugly Book of Solid Shorts, March 12, 2009

By	SORE EYES (Boulder/Wellington) - See all my reviews

The trend of late with McSweeney's is that the better the edition looks, the less content inside. Edition 30 isn't pretty and not one of the more "collectable" editions from an artistic perspective, but it's meaty and full of good stories that are solid and less sarcastic and flippant in tone than many of the McSweeney's collections. The characters are still very unusual, but the writing is less self-aware and showy. If you like McSweeney's sarcastic, some of that is still there in stories like "The Beginning of a Plan". But that sort of thing pales in comparison to the solid writing and character development in the excellent "Pine Cone" , "A Further Interpretation of Real Life Events" and "Retreat".


Stories included are:
Bill Cotter- Pfaff II
Nick Ekkixogloy- Stowaways
Kevin Moffett- Further Interpretation of Real Life Events
Etgar Keret-Bad Karma
Shelly Oria- The Beginning of a Plan
Michael Cera- Pinecone
Carson Mell-Diamond Aces
Matei Visniec-Madness
J. Malcolm Garcia-Cuts
Catherine Bussinger- Foothill Boulevard
Wells Tower-Retreat

An edition worth buying if you're looking for a few hours of solid reading.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Further Interpretation, May 10, 2009

By	Matt M. Martin "No, One" (Fort Collins, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The art: This issue is pretty basic, which is on purpose, as it's a throwback issue meant to look like the first McSweeney's. This may be artistic choice or editorial laziness but who cares anyway, because the McS.' art has lately been superb and the stories in this one are over 80% solid.

The writing: Issue 30 has the just absolutely-wow-wonderful "Retreat" by Wells Tower, which unfortunately causes all other stories to pale in comparison, but Kevin Moffett's and Shelly Oria's stories are also standouts, the first a fun and clever metafictional account about an author who's outdone in literary journals by his nonwriter father, the second a sharp idea about stopping and starting time--an idea that's written with the pedantic accuracy of science fiction. It's not just an idea, though, but a strong story around an idea, and has some terrific lines. "Pinecone" by Michael Cera is a lot of fun, an effortlessly readable story even more enjoyable for not being at all "literary." There are only two duds, those by Nick Ekkizogloy and Catherine Bussinger, the first a dull nonstarter, the second an out-of-place exercise in obnoxious sass and clownish characters that's less and less funny the more it strains to be. The other five stories are all solid, potent and effective--an overall strong collection, and another winner.