Nathan Leslie is the author of the new story collection A Fly in the Ointment. His other books include the story collection Hurry Up and Relax. He lives in Northern Virginia.
Q: Over how long a period did you write the stories in your new collection?
A: A number of years. I lost track, really. Maybe five, at least. I viewed these stories as the companion stories to my 2019 collection, Hurry Up and Relax—as though these were/are a “double album” of stories, so to speak.
Where Hurry Up and Relax is primarily satirical, these stories are more serious in tone and nature. My students might call them “depressing.” I found myself gravitating towards issues of the body, of ethics, of characters in turmoil of one kind or another.
Q: How was the book's title (also the title of one of the stories) chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A: The title signifies that there is something amiss. Where ointment should be healing—in this story there is a sticking point. The fly is the annoying buzz of a pressing problem.
Q: How did you choose the order in which the stories would appear in the book?
A: Good question—I'm not sure exactly. I go on gut and intuition and try to find linkages and segues. I hope I got it right. Maybe the reader would like the stories arranged in a different way.
Q: The back cover of the book says, "A Fly in the Ointment catalogues a portrait of 21st century America in steady decline." Can you say more about how that theme runs through the collection?
A: I can't say too much on this question as I don't want to come across as didactic. However, it is obvious to me that the America of 2023 is troubled in ways that we never even could have thought about in the ‘80s, when I grew up.
These troubles are less external and more internal—ethical, psychological, and material. With this in mind, I tried to be as comprehensive as I could.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: As always, I am working on a number of new projects. Some flash fiction, a new novel, a music blog. Revising some stories I wrote during the pandemic. I keep myself occupied.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: I believe the short story is the most powerful and perfect fictional genre—far more so than the flashier novel. Let's give the short story a fair shake. By writing short stories, over and over I attempt to do just that. Here they are—read them and you can decide.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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