Table Tennis Should NOT be an Olympic Sport

The Dave Eggers review continues with a re-read of his short story compilation I got a few years ago. "How We Are Hungry" is a beautiful book, and I mean on the outside. McSweeney's is fantastic for celebrating the art of the written word.

Anyway, there's a story in there about a woman who flies to Costa Rica to meet up with an old friend, who she's already planned on sleeping with during the trip. The narrator describes this attraction to her friend in classic Eggers style, but what struck me was this last bit.

She wanted to hold his shoulders; she wanted to go snowshoeing with him; she wanted to go to funerals with him; she wanted him to be the father of her children, and also her father, and brother; she wanted all this while also to be free; she wanted to sleep with other men and come home and tell [him] about them. She wanted to live one life with [him] while living three others concurrently.

First of all, Eggers is the master of using punctuation to help break up seemingly endless sentences. Secondly, I find this to be one of the most thought-provoking paragraphs I've read to date. Taken out of context it may sound a bit Oedipal. But trust me, it's pulling from an undertone of loneliness and need that seems to follow this character from her everyday life into a higher contrast within the exotic context of her vacation spot. And I can't say I identify with the specific situation, but there is a certain resonance that intrigues me. And, as I well now know, though-provoking mixed with a certain air of despair is always a good combination in my book. Don't care who agrees.