McSweeney's 28 is made up of 8 small hardbacks contained within a cardboard container. The two sets of 8 books make up two fantastic painted covers, one of which is the one you see as the main cover, of a boy with his ear to the ground while a fire or a tree radiates from him. The books are very short, about 14 pages each with lots of illustrations, so this is probably the quickest issue of McSweeney's you'll read. That said, some of the stories here are quite brilliant. Brian Evenson's "The Book and the Girl" is about a girl surviving a terrible event with her trusty book, proving that books are far more practical than previously thought. Ryan Boudinot's "The Guy Who Kept Meeting Himself" is my favourite of the 8 stories, about a man who at various stages in his life meets a version of himself a few years older who then tells him something about his future that helps (or doesn't) in the present. Fantastically imaginative, great ending, brilliant illustrations. Daniel Alarcon's "The Thousands" is the story that feels more like a fable than any other here, about a group of people who arrive in a land where the government tries to get rid of them. They construct rudimentary lodgings and stay. Sheila Heti's "Two Free Men" is about two lost souls finding themselves and peace through acceptance. Sarah Manguso's "The Box" is about a man who becomes an exalted leader through not telling anyone what's in his box. It's the funniest story here with a great message. Arthur Bradford's "Virgil Walker" is the battiest of the bunch, about an abandoned octopus who breaks out of a pet shop with a turtle and starts a life of his own after escaping prison. The stories are all wonderful and great to read but it's over all too quickly. That said, the presentation is enough to buy the issue. The hardbacks are well produced and everything is so well put together that it becomes an object of beauty as well as a collection of excellent short stories. McSweeney's 28 is one of my favourite issues of McSweeney's and is recommended to all book lovers. This isn't one of the issues of McSweeney's that you buy for a substantial read - if it takes anyone more than an hour to read it all I'd be surprised. It's been a while since I finished a book on the same day it was delivered.But it's a book of fables, and the power of a fable isn't in the reading, it's in the retelling, and I could see a few of these fables having a life beyond the pages of these perfectly produced little books. It's easy to imagine a headmaster using one as the basis for a school assembly.You wouldn't want to pay twenty pounds for it, though - anyone in the UK tempted to buy McSweeney's from a bookshop should note that (at the time of writing) if you subscribe directly you can get the whole year's issues for only about fifty quid, thanks to the current exchange rate.
What do You think about McSweeney's #28 (2008)?
Certainly one of the prettiest issues of McSweeney's, but there's just not very much to it.
—jshipes
Loved the concept, but the actual stories were not always very fulfilling.
—alshea
Beautiful design. Delightful and often thought-provoking fables.
—gregginn
