“The Entire North Side Was Covered With Fire” by Rivka Galchen is funny, meandering, and entertaining. It’s a quick read, three pages at the most. It’s written in first person, and the narrator has recently been left by her husband. She’s pregnant, perhaps naive, and at the beginning (or is the end?) of a successful writing career.

In the story, Jonathon, her husband, has kept a blog called http://icantstandmywife.blogspot.com where he documents all of the things he can’t stand about Trish, his wife.

The story spins out in tangential conversations between Trish and her brother, Trish and her friend, and Trish and her agent. All of these men seem to know of the blog and none of them have told Trish. Toward the end of the story, we learn that maybe Trish isn’t as oblivious as she lets on.

This is the first story I’ve read from the “20 Under 40” fiction launch, and it was a great story with which to start.

If you’re interested, check out the Q&A with Rivka Galchen, or the other “20 Under 40” fiction pieces.