Welcome to issue 110.We begin with a story by the literary great, Joyce Carol Oates, This Is Not a Drill. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, feel the desperation of a man who has slid into a brutal existence with no way out.
Next up is When We Went Gallivanting by British writer Leone Ross. (See also: The Woman Who Lived in a Restaurant from issue 88). What happens when a London tower block suddenly goes walkabout? Read to find out. It’s wild and wacky and rather makes you want to be there.
And from the U.S. we have Stewart Engesser’s The Orchard Thieves, in which an aging police chief must deal with land-grabbers who are cutting down all the apple trees in an orchard. How he handles it is something you won’t soon forget.
Also from the US is Gimme the Bread by Greg Jenkins (U.S.). It’s a strong and engaging voice we get from a man of some age who is dealing with a serious medical issue; his calm demeanor stems from an unexpected source.
Lastly, we have a three-page pocket biography, My Brother’s Car, by Kevin Spaise (U.S.), whose older brother was a polio disabled, drug addict/bank robber who raised all sorts of hell. As our reader said, “The brevity and matter-of-factness of the piece gives you a huge bang for your buck.”
In our picks from back issues— From the US, we have Two Things by Daniel Woodrell and Catch the Grey Dog by Jodi Angel. Both great stories.
The quiz this issue is Immigration in Literature. Answer correctly and you’re in the running to win a 30-euro (or equivalent) gift certificate from Amazon. For answers to last issue’s quiz, Football in Literature, click here.
Our book review this issue is Everyone Who is Gone is Here by Jonathan Blitzer, an extraordinary history tracing the sources of our current-day border crisis in the US.
Our next issue is due out the end of August 2024. To be notified when new issues are available, just ‘LIKE’ The Barcelona Review on Facebook (for the Spanish, LIKE Barcelona Review without the THE); or email us to subscribe (gratis, of course), though often our bulk email is blocked from servers so we cannot guarantee a notification.
Jill Adams, editor
Michael Garry Smout, tech and design
Diggory Dunn, assistant editor
Readers: Bergita Bugarija, Diggory Dunn, Jamie Kahn, Hallie Pritts, Milena Nigam and Sam Simon
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