I’m not quite sure what I think of this story. The style doesn’t bother me; it’s told as instructions from one person to another about how to date girls. As Danticat notes in their discussion, it’s a boy story (as opposed to a girl story), and it’s reflective more of a young man’s hopes rather than reality. The race, class, and sexual politics in it are very different than what I grew up with. I never even considered inviting someone over when my parents were gone in order to hopefully get some. But I was shyer and less bold than the narrator of this story. Interesting, but inconclusive.

More at: http://reading.kingrat.biz/story-reviews/new-yorker-fiction-podcast-early-2007 ( )