In the introduction to the third volume of the literary journal, Electric Literature, the editors lament the decline of traditional reading. Yet they also recognize the fact that we are all now reading more than ever, and at a faster pace: tweets, blogs, texts, and, yes, books. So instead of publishing a death notice for the literary age, the editors present an innovative collection of stories, mediums, and writers meant to challenge the idea of conventional literature.
The centerpiece of the volume is Rick Moody’s “Contemporary Characters,” originally published as a serial Twitter feed. Making the short story even shorter, Moody pushes the limits of literature by presenting a cohesive back and forth tale of an older academic and a younger girl and their disintegrating relationship. Narrated in tweet form, each section limited to 140 characters, Moody achieves the effect of haiku, “We fitted in the whole of a May to December romance – from unwarranted optimism to contempt – between Surf Ave and Union Square.”
One of the major highlights of the book is Matt Summell’s story, “Little Things,” an offbeat take on a family’s encounter with cancer and the gloomy, often transitory, details that surround death. By sorting through tragedy with a host of narratives, Summell shows the impact that details, such as a piece of road kill in the driveway, can have on a traumatic event.
Aimee Bender’s “The Red Ribbon” reads like a Virginia Woolf take on marriage, its deeply innate observations combined with brisk insecurities. Patrick deWitt brings humor to the collection, with “Reed and Dinnerstein Moving,” as two siblings struggle to maintain a moving business, while Jenny Offill’s story, “The Tunnel” examines cancer through a more somber lens, using such visceral descriptions as eating a piece of molded bread.
Sandwiched between each piece of prose is a minimal sketch by Adam Thompson - a genie lamp dispersing a genie lamp, a balloon tied to a skateboard, a half-drawn cow eating grass, a man eating his own hand, as shown above – and each story is punctuated with the publisher’s signature electrical outlet logo.
If there is a theme to be discovered in the collection, it is the primitive complications of human relationships. We still haven’t found the perfect medium to approach this subject matter, so it’s a valiant effort on the Electric Literature editors’ part to tackle the case from a variety of perspectives. Of course, the collection is published in every feasible medium, including paperback, Kindle, iPhone, audiobook, and eBook.
What does a tweet sound like when read aloud? And does reading a traditional narrative on your iPhone produce the same effect as in print? In the middle of all this innovation, the editors make sure to stay true to the stories themselves, which is all that counts.
