A woman diagnosed with lymphoma details exactly what she is going through.

(from McSweeney’s, Early Fall, 2004)

This isn’t a story with an arc, or, at least, it doesn’t come to a satisfying conclusion.The sentences are mostly simple, declarative statements: which drugs, which products, who is wearing what, what color are their eyes. It’s relentless and clinical in creating shopping lists. Is the woman upset about the chemo, about the uncertainty, about her dreams dashed? Probably, but those are not the concerns dealt with here. Which makes this a unique and interesting reading experience.