December 12th, 2011
I’d been enjoying this great story. It had dozens of compelling characters and exhibited an incredible attention to detail. It was a commentary on society with leitmotifs of greed, desperation, and hope. I took in a few chapters at a time, put it down, then picked it back up later. I was near the end and I was kind of bummed about it. The story was so good, I didn’t want it to end.

In today’s column: TV shows based on novels might be trending, as Laura Miller suggests,  but can the novel really compete with the second golden age of television?

plus ça change

PRAISE FOR
WHY THEY CRIED



"... demonstrates real insight into the way we live now."
 –The Rumpus

"Reminiscent of George Saunders and James Thurber, Why They Cried is a great collection of modern tales."
–Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief and co-founder of One Story

"Jim Hanas has a remarkable talent for imagining and crafting uncanny little worlds that make me vaguely nervous. And yet I never want to leave."
–Rob Walker, co-founder of Significant Objects

"A tender and smart assembly of fiction about people trying to communicate—with each other, the world—and all the ways they fail. Fail better, fail beautifully."
–Fiona Maazel, author of Last Last Chance

Jim Hanas is the author of the short story collection Why They Cried, a freelance writer, and director of strategy at Sonnet Media.

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