Colm Tóibín

Zadie Smith commissioned twenty-three reputable writers (including herself) to each "make someone up." Their stories were named after their characters and compiled into this book, published and sold for the benefit of 826NYC, a non-profit that gets kids into writing. It's a good enough idea, but unfortunately, most of these stories are instantly forgettable.

Some of the authors I've found to excel at short-form character studies before (like Dan Clowes and Miranda July) don't disappoint,… See more →