Living Outside the Narrative in Elif Batuman’s The Idiot
The Idiot dramatizes the alienation, and even heartbreak, of losing the narrative thread of your existence.
Posts by author
Sean Carman
31 posts
Sean Carman has contributed to four McSweeney's humor anthologies, and has been a contestant in Literary Death Match, a finalist in NPR's Three-Minute Fiction Contest, and a winner of The New Yorker's weekly Twitter contest. His story "A Hard Rain. A Really, Really Hard Rain" was a runner-up in the Out of the Storm News Bad Writing About the Weather Contest. He lives in Washington, D.C., where he works as an environmental lawyer.
The Rumpus Review of Multiple Choice by Alejandro Zambra
But the problem of making fiction is just one of the many problems a reborn country must figure out.
The Prank by Anton Chekhov
Sean Carman reviews The Prank by Anton Chekhov today in Rumpus Books.
The Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret
Sean Carman reviews The Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret today in Rumpus Books.
Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
Sean Carman reviews Get in Trouble by Kelly Link today in Rumpus Books.
MFA vs. SNL
The best writers learn their craft in unexpected places, even from the foot of an improv stage.
A Few Seconds of Radiant Filmstrip by Kevin Brockmeier
Sean Carman reviews A FEW SECONDS OF RADIANT FILMSTRIP by Kevin Brockmeier today in The Rumpus Book Reviews.
The Rumpus Interview with Bill Cotter
Writer Bill Cotter talks about his new novel, the joy of discovering writing a bit later in life, and the dangers of accidental self-plagiarism.
Words Will Break Cement by Masha Gessen
Sean Carman reviews WORDS WILL BREAK CEMENT by Masha Gessen today in The Rumpus Book Reviews.
Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart
Sean Carman reviews LITTLE FAILURE by Gary Shteyngart today in The Rumpus Book Reviews.
The Rumpus Interview with Kevin Barry
Irish writer Kevin Barry sits down for a chat about life in County Sligo, not knowing what your stories are about until years after you've written them, and the summer he spent in a camping trailer on a West Cork beach.
The Rumpus Interview with Laura van den Berg
Writer Laura van den Berg talks about her newest collection, The Isle of Youth, being drawn to locations "with a potential for magic and strangeness," and how to create a continuous dream for the reader.