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A review by kimberlyjerger
The Decameron Project: 29 New Stories from the Pandemic by The New York Times
3.0
*3
The Decameron Project: 29 New Stories from the Pandemic is a decent short story collection in the same vein as Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, written in the fourteenth century amid the Black Death. Twenty-nine short stories by contemporary writers document life during the COVID-19 pandemic in this eclectic collection from The New York Times Magazine.
The stories themselves are quite short, most under ten pages, and while they all have an atmosphere of impending despair, the stories often lean toward notes of hope and community.
1. "Recognition" by Victor LaValle ★★★★
2. "A Blue Sky Like This" by Mona Awad ★★★
3. "The Walk" by Kamila Shamsie ★★
4. "Tales from the L.A. River" by Colm Tóibín ★
5. "Clinical Notes" by Liz Moore ★★★
6. "The Team" by Tommy Orange ★★
7. "The Rock" by Leïla Slimani ★★
8. "Impatient Griselda" by Margaret Atwood ★★★★★
9. "Under the Magnolia" by Yiyun Li ★★
10. "Outside" by Etgar Keret ★★★
11. "Keepsakes" by Andrew O’Hagan ★★
12. "The Girl with the Big Red Suitcase" by Rachel Kushner ★★★★
13. "The Morningside" by Téa Obreht ★★★★
14. "Screen Time" by Alejandro Zambra ★★★
15. "How We Used to Play" by Dinaw Mengestu ★★★★★
16. "Line 19 Woodstock/Glisan" by Karen Russell ★★★★★
17. "If Wishes Was Horses" by David Mitchell ★★★★
18. "Systems" by Charles Yu ★★★★★
19. "The Perfect Travel Buddy" by Paolo Giordano ★
20. "An Obliging Robber" by Mia Couto ★★★★
21. "Sleep" by Uzodinma Iweala ★★
22. "The Cellar" by Dina Nayeri ★★
23. "That Time at My Brother’s Wedding" by Laila Lalami ★★★
24. "A Time of Death, the Death of Time" by Julián Fuks ★★
25. "Prudent Girls" by Rivers Solomon ★★★
26. "Origin Story" by Matthew Baker ★★★★
27. "To the Wall" by Esi Edugyan ★★
28. "Barcelona: Open City" by John Wray ★★
29. "One Thing" by Edwidge Danticat ★★★
The Decameron Project: 29 New Stories from the Pandemic is a decent short story collection in the same vein as Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, written in the fourteenth century amid the Black Death. Twenty-nine short stories by contemporary writers document life during the COVID-19 pandemic in this eclectic collection from The New York Times Magazine.
The stories themselves are quite short, most under ten pages, and while they all have an atmosphere of impending despair, the stories often lean toward notes of hope and community.
1. "Recognition" by Victor LaValle ★★★★
2. "A Blue Sky Like This" by Mona Awad ★★★
3. "The Walk" by Kamila Shamsie ★★
4. "Tales from the L.A. River" by Colm Tóibín ★
5. "Clinical Notes" by Liz Moore ★★★
6. "The Team" by Tommy Orange ★★
7. "The Rock" by Leïla Slimani ★★
8. "Impatient Griselda" by Margaret Atwood ★★★★★
9. "Under the Magnolia" by Yiyun Li ★★
10. "Outside" by Etgar Keret ★★★
11. "Keepsakes" by Andrew O’Hagan ★★
12. "The Girl with the Big Red Suitcase" by Rachel Kushner ★★★★
13. "The Morningside" by Téa Obreht ★★★★
14. "Screen Time" by Alejandro Zambra ★★★
15. "How We Used to Play" by Dinaw Mengestu ★★★★★
16. "Line 19 Woodstock/Glisan" by Karen Russell ★★★★★
17. "If Wishes Was Horses" by David Mitchell ★★★★
18. "Systems" by Charles Yu ★★★★★
19. "The Perfect Travel Buddy" by Paolo Giordano ★
20. "An Obliging Robber" by Mia Couto ★★★★
21. "Sleep" by Uzodinma Iweala ★★
22. "The Cellar" by Dina Nayeri ★★
23. "That Time at My Brother’s Wedding" by Laila Lalami ★★★
24. "A Time of Death, the Death of Time" by Julián Fuks ★★
25. "Prudent Girls" by Rivers Solomon ★★★
26. "Origin Story" by Matthew Baker ★★★★
27. "To the Wall" by Esi Edugyan ★★
28. "Barcelona: Open City" by John Wray ★★
29. "One Thing" by Edwidge Danticat ★★★