Source of Lit - Unsaid - Will Eno

Will Eno - You

This short (3 pages) story has, I believe, just the right amount of foreshadowing in the early and middle stages to create tension, to propel the reader forward, to hint at what is to come later, without demanding that the reader KNOW it is going to happen.  While essentially a pretty straightforward story, Eno does allow for some playfulness - the second person narration, the inclusion of the French Horn storyline, for instance. 

This is the type of story within these pages I'll be most curious to hear what grabbed your attention.  The reasoning behind that, wanting to become a better reader myself, there wasn't anything about it that made me think, Unsaid, of course he would send that to David.  I liked it quite a bit - that's not the engine behind my comment - it's just the first piece within this issue that I thought, I can think of four or five other journals that would have published this, where frequently when reading Unsaid I can usually only think of a couple of other journals that might have taken a chance with the material.

David:

Eno is one of my favorite writers, period. The stance he takes may appear less "experimental" (whatever that means) than other Unsaid writers, but Eno has exactly the aesthetic that I seek for Unsaid. 

His sentences are simple and strong, and perhaps what I like best about Eno is his ability to present an America that is framed by a white picket fence, but always with a looming thundercloud approaching from overhead. His writing is deceptively simple. It is also some of the funniest writing I have ever read. Funny and sad. Accessible but with a great lasting weight. 

Have you read or seen his plays? They are some of the most beautiful arrangements of language I have encountered. Eno knows America and her people very well. He understands those who believe in the so-called American Dream. He understands the American Dream itself. And he, more than any writer I know, can shake the American dreamer awake. There's a dark cloud inside every silver lining. That's the America that Eno shows us.

Comments

[Curtis Smith]

I bought the last issue of Unsaid. You've convinced me to get this one as well.