Could you call it 'The Billingser'?
I was intrigued by Dan Baum's Talk of the Town piece in this week's New Yorker because of its setting: I believe I've been to that Billings car dealership. (And after 15 years in the area, I still have difficulty finding a decent place to eat in that neighborhood... Just think, if only they'd read the Best-Of section of the Billings Gazette, they could have gone next door to the city's best restaurant: Applebee's.)
But once I started reading, I admired the details. Notice the talk about the fingernails. There's so much discussion about the plane ride, you have to guess Baum was there. Maybe he was returning from an earlier assignment, and saw a story in his seatmate's carry-on luggage.
The other thing I love is the story's understatement, which would be eroded if I proceeded to say anything more about it. So I won't.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks.cmo
But once I started reading, I admired the details. Notice the talk about the fingernails. There's so much discussion about the plane ride, you have to guess Baum was there. Maybe he was returning from an earlier assignment, and saw a story in his seatmate's carry-on luggage.
The other thing I love is the story's understatement, which would be eroded if I proceeded to say anything more about it. So I won't.
I'm always interested in feedback, via info at johnclaytonbooks.cmo
