September 5th, 2010 / 5:11 pm
Snippets

The New York Times op-ed page publishes fiction?

10 Comments

  1. JD HARDING

      This is Bizarro NYT.

  2. Sean K

      Yeah I saw this on the back page this morning and was pleasantly surprised, although when I started reading I was prepared to hate it, but after finishing I thought it was not bad, enjoyable. Then I looked at the bottom of the page and saw it was an excerpt from a book called “Skippy Dies” by a man named Paul Murray, which I hadn’t ever heard of before earlier this week; I keep hearing raves about it from the same outlets that are responsible for the heavy Franzen-buzz. I remember reading a quoted sentence from the book somewhere (Paris review blog?) that made me think it might be something worth reading, but I remain unconvinced.

  3. Paul

      There’s a portion of “Skippy Dies” that involves a discussion among the classmates in which they decide Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is actually addressing anal sex.

      I cannot find the excerpt, but it was pretty funny. Though, I can agree with what some of Sean is saying. I don’t think I ever want to read the story that begins with “TA-DA!” in all-caps.

      TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
      And sorry I could not travel both
      And be one traveler, long I stood
      And looked down one as far as I could
      To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

      Then took the other, as just as fair,
      And having perhaps the better claim,
      Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
      Though as for that the passing there
      Had worn them really about the same, 10

      And both that morning equally lay
      In leaves no step had trodden black.
      Oh, I kept the first for another day!
      Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
      I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

      I shall be telling this with a sigh
      Somewhere ages and ages hence:
      Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
      I took the one less traveled by,
      And that has made all the difference.

  4. Paul

      I’m not sure if I remain unconvinced or not, but there is something about his pacing that is thoroughly off-putting. Can’t put my finger on it.

  5. JD HARDING

      This is Bizarro NYT.

  6. Justin Taylor

      Yes, not frequently, but every so often. Almost always around Christmas. Other times, too.

  7. Sean K

      Yeah I saw this on the back page this morning and was pleasantly surprised, although when I started reading I was prepared to hate it, but after finishing I thought it was not bad, enjoyable. Then I looked at the bottom of the page and saw it was an excerpt from a book called “Skippy Dies” by a man named Paul Murray, which I hadn’t ever heard of before earlier this week; I keep hearing raves about it from the same outlets that are responsible for the heavy Franzen-buzz. I remember reading a quoted sentence from the book somewhere (Paris review blog?) that made me think it might be something worth reading, but I remain unconvinced.

  8. Paul Cunningham

      There’s a portion of “Skippy Dies” that involves a discussion among the classmates in which they decide Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” is actually addressing anal sex.

      I cannot find the excerpt, but it was pretty funny. Though, I can agree with what some of Sean is saying. I don’t think I ever want to read the story that begins with “TA-DA!” in all-caps.

      TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
      And sorry I could not travel both
      And be one traveler, long I stood
      And looked down one as far as I could
      To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

      Then took the other, as just as fair,
      And having perhaps the better claim,
      Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
      Though as for that the passing there
      Had worn them really about the same, 10

      And both that morning equally lay
      In leaves no step had trodden black.
      Oh, I kept the first for another day!
      Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
      I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

      I shall be telling this with a sigh
      Somewhere ages and ages hence:
      Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
      I took the one less traveled by,
      And that has made all the difference.

  9. Paul Cunningham

      I’m not sure if I remain unconvinced or not, but there is something about his pacing that is thoroughly off-putting. Can’t put my finger on it.

  10. Justin Taylor

      Yes, not frequently, but every so often. Almost always around Christmas. Other times, too.