Includes eleven new stories, three art pieces, plus letters to the editor, all in a sturdy faux-leather, hardcover book with mysterious medieval-like cover illustrations by Sophy Hollington.
An extremely strong edition, with only a couple of pieces that let me down. If pinned down to reveal three favorites, I'd say
Wetumpka by Maria Anderson: A self-deceiving woman literally floats away from her problems by working as a cruise ship engineer and a covert companion to an elderly man. I love how this story lets you in on the secret world of cruise ships.
Escape from the Dysphesiac People by Brandon Hobson: An elderly Native American man tells the story of how he was kidnapped and forced into slave labor as a boy in the name of "assimilation" into white culture. His escape is mythic. I loved the boy's observations of the sickness running through the lifestyle of the white farming community.
A Non-Sprinklered Building by Gerardo Herrera: A woman trapped in a burning dinner theater internally narrates the story of her life. Although her lifestyle seems suburban, her story is anything but and her account jumps genres effortlessly. There's way too much going on here but the intelligence and sharp perception of the narrator keeps the wildness in check.
The art pieces (a comic, a photography show and a clever mixed-media project using home interior catalogs) were all great as well. ( )

Based on the quality level of the letters to the editor in this issue and others, I admire the readership of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern. The short stories in the mix which follow are broad in themes and styles, and the issue has some great graphic art as well.

My favorites:
Wetumpka, by Maria Anderson
Common Ground, by Melissa Schriek (a collection of creative photos of the human body)
Dreamers, by Christina Wood Martinez
Trouble, by Timothy Moore
Modern Homes, by Gabrielle Hunt (graphic art added to images from a home furnishing catalog)

Honorable mention:
Escape from the Dysphesiac People, by Brandon Hobson
El Paraiso, by Salvador Plascencia
Something Hunted, by Ananda Naima Gonzalez ( )