The New Yorker: Fiction

Colm Tóibín, the acclaimed Irish novelist of Brooklyn and The Magician, discusses Tobias Wolff’s “Awaiting Orders.” He explores Wolff’s plain yet mysterious style, military secrecy, hidden desire, and Morse’s risky attachments. The conversation probes loneliness, charity, power, concealed identity, and the tension between safe domesticity and dangerous attraction.

Min Jin Lee, the Korean American novelist behind Pachinko and Free Food for Millionaires, explores Wendy Kaufman’s “Helen on Eighty-Sixth Street.” She discusses Vita’s school play, the Trojan War, beauty and casting, an absent father, and a mother’s complicated care. The conversation follows burning letters, mythic wishes, grief, and the moment private pain becomes authentic art.

Mohsin Hamid, novelist and essayist known for Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalist, reads and reflects on Haruki Murakami. He explores writers who 'crack reality' and why Man‑Eating Cats hooked him. Short takes cover motifs, unsettling juxtapositions, vanishings and the power of unresolved mysteries. Readings of the story punctuate the conversation.

Paul Yoon, award-winning fiction writer behind The Hive and the Honey, reads and discusses Fiona McFarlane’s “Hostel.” He explores the story’s confessional framing and liminal hostel setting. Short, sharp conversations touch on gentrification, a sudden intrusion of violence, media spectacle, jealousy and the ethics of kindness.

Han Ong joins Deborah Treisman to discuss “The Fugitive,” by Lyudmila Ulitskaya, which was published in The New Yorker in 2014. Ong is the author of numerous plays and of the novels “The Disinherited” and “Fixer Chao.” “Fixer Chao” was first published in 2001 and will be reissued this July by Outsider Editions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, novelist and short-story writer known for Ms. Hempel Chronicles and Madeleine Is Sleeping, reads and discusses Joan Silber's “Evolution.” She talks about discovering Silber, the story’s ringlike form and vivid, intimate voice. Conversations cover Kara’s runaway years, memory and mortality, sex as transcendence, and the recurring image of the fire-escape.

Valeria Luiselli, MacArthur Fellow and prize-winning novelist, reads and discusses Julio Cortázar’s “The Night Face Up.” She talks about Cortázar’s formal playfulness, his mixing of ritual and modern time, and how the story creates perplexity through sensory detail, translation choices, and surprising tonal shifts.

Daniyal Mueenuddin, author of In Other Rooms, Other Wonders and This Is Where the Serpent Lives, reads and discusses Peter Taylor's 'Two Pilgrims.' He talks about Taylor's mannered prose and hidden emotional violence. They explore the story's in medias res opening, the mysterious house fire, class and decorum, and why ambiguity and withheld facts amplify the narrative's power.

Tessa Hadley, novelist and short‑story writer known for acute domestic observation, reads and reflects on John McGahern. She traces his clear surfaces, repeating rhythms, and how a gold watch becomes a charged emblem. Conversation ranges from male power and family cruelty to small details that quietly foreshadow darker turns.

Bryan Washington, a celebrated fiction writer known for his works like "Lot" and "Memorial," joins to read Yiyun Li's captivating story "A Small Flame." He shares how he discovered Li's unique narrative style and discusses her masterful pacing and structure. The conversation dives into the complexities of the protagonist, Bella, exploring her loneliness, desire for recognition, and the contrasting memories of her past. Washington highlights the themes of unattainability and the narratives we inherit, revealing Bella's struggle for belonging in a world that often overlooks her.