The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker cover image

Ben Lerner Reads “Café Loup”

The New Yorker: The Writer's Voice - New Fiction from The New Yorker

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The Phantom of Liberty - To Die by Choking

To choke on animal flesh is linked to the toilet, which is involved with digestion and elimination. The piece of steak lodged there, blocking all air flow to my lungs. I felt tremendous shame, shame spread through me as I sat, startled, entirely unable to breathe. And while I was terrified of my shameful secret being discovered, divulged, discouraged, I did not yet register the fear of dying,. Although I sensed the fear was coming. I sensed a deep ancestral panic was taking form, but it wasn't inside me, it was not yet mine.

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