Rebecca Curtis must be working on a novel. “The Christmas Miracle,” her new story in The New Yorker, follows the same characters as “Fish Rot,” her recent story in n+1. Both are available in print only, so if you’re not a subscriber you’ll have to go on a little treasure hunt to find them in magazines. But any story by Rebecca Curtis is worth the newsstand price. If you’re impatient (or broke) you can read an older story, “The Wolf at the Door,” here, and check out her latest interview.
– Brian Hurley
How did I not know about Rebecca Curtis? Actually I did. I’d read three of her stories before I realized why these three particular stories were so great. I went back, looked, and they were all by the same writer.
Christmas Miracle was a miasmic, freak-fest of Lyme patients that was so creative it’s unforgettable. The darkness of The Toast is something I’ve carried with me since I read it months ago. Now the Pink House expels literary madness, and shrugs itself off as not being a very good story, but really another testament to her technique and again with humour. So good.
No doubt Curtis is the best story writer in the English language today.
Great piece. Perfect antidote to Christmas smarm.