Walter Kirn Sighting

[Keith Brecher]

WALTER KIRN SPOTTED IN NEW YORKER MAGAZINE

Since everybody on the list reads THE NEW YORKER, I'm not telling you
anything you don't already know about Walter Kirn appearing in its latest
classy issue. Kirn's story "Mormon Eden" is a worthy follow-up to his
already famous essay in VOGUE about choosing the right perfume for his
wife. I've rilly got to hand it to Kirn where "Mormon Eden" is concerned.
It's better than anything in SLOW LEARNER. However, before that bit of
praise goes to Kirn's head and swells his cojones to the point that he
starts a novel long as INFINITE JEST, I would like to make it clear that,
in the genre of fiction featuring narrators on trendy psychotropic drugs,
it is not as successful as anything by Thom Jones. So, keep working Walter.
Admittedly, "Mormon Eden" is a great start, especially the bittersweet sex
scenes and those unforgettable images juxtaposing religion's false majesty
with a concrete and mershed reality, but you can do better. The Great
American Novel is within you. I, for one, am waiting.

D.E.A.W.K.,
Keith