Strictly speaking, this is a novel extract rather than a short story, but this section – the letter B – was published online as a self-contained piece so I think it counts. Drawn from more than ten years of diary entries, Heti’s novel is a compilation of sentences from different times cut up and re-arranged in alphabetical order (via an excel spreadsheet, her publishers tell us). The writing veers from lofty reflections on morality and art to comments about buying orange juice or enjoying pierogis. There are snippets about relationships with several different men, which frustrates the impulse to find a single narrative thread, and yet there is definitely a shape here. The piece begins with short, snappy exhortations: “Be impeccable with your word. Be miserable about the world.” Towards the end it’s more about growing old and dying. It feels mysterious. Not everyone can pull this kind of thing off, but I think Heti does.
First published in the UK as part of Alphabetical Diaries, Fitzcarraldo Editions, Feb 2024. Available to read online at Electric Literature here
A Personal Anthology 