Winter Stories

From The New Yorker’s archive: stories that remind us of the charms—and contradictions—of the season. View in browser | Update your preferences Winter Stories Winter is here in full force, and we hardly need to go on about its perils. That is the stuff of headlines and all-too-harsh reality. To provide some respite, we’re bringing you a selection of winter stories. In “Birnam Wood,” T. Coraghessan Boyle conjures a tale about a couple who spend an intriguing few months house-sitting in upstate New York during the nineteen-seventies. In “The Buck Stops Here,” the director Ethan Coen reflects on a tale about a man who met his end while driving along a rural road on a wintry night. In “Turn Signals,” Louise Erdrich writes about the winter births of three of her four daughters. (“My youngest daughter was born during one of those January thaws when the snow packs low to the earth, exuding a heavy mist that turns a golden peach color under halogen street lamps, and everything is muted in a fog of sunset.”) Finally, in “Ava's Apartment,” Jonathan Lethem imagines a holiday in an alternate New York where whole apartment buildings have been set aside for the exclusive use of dogs. All of these stories remind us of the charms—and contradictions—of the season. We hope that you enjoy them. — David Remnick From The New Yorker’s Archive Fiction Birnam Wood “Outside, the snow made a noise, a kind of hiss, as if the night had come alive.” By T. Coraghessan Boyle | September 3, 2012 Winter Tale The Buck Stops Here When I heard the story of Uncle Andy, I couldn’t help tracing past its punch line. By Ethan Coen | December 28, 1998 Winter Story Turn Signals My winter babies. By Louise Erdrich | December 22, 2003 Fiction Ava’s Apartment “It turned out that it was possible to wish to become a dog only exactly up to that point where it became completely impossible.” By Jonathan Lethem | May 25, 2009 Newsletters Sign Up for The New Yorker’s Books & Fiction Newsletter Book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the world of literature, twice a week. This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To insure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com. For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.