The Tactile Anxieties of Medical Fiction

In an era of increasing medical costs, heated political debates over the nature of healthcare, and financial instability, reading about all things medical can be as unsettling as the most unpredictable of horror stories. There have been a host of acclaimed works of nonfiction dealing with their authors’ experiences with illnesses and the medical system in recent years, including Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, Joshua Mohr’s Sirens, and Porochista Khakpour’s forthcoming Sick. But numerous recent works of fiction have […]

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“I Love Stories of Single-Minded Obsession”: An Interview With Gabe Habash

Early on in Gabe Habash’s debut novel, the titular protagonist pins his opponent in a wrestling match. “I place my ear on Brett’s back and hear his heart. ‘Oh Brett, I told you I was going to eat you,’ I whisper to him. Something like sympathy, I could fall asleep if we stayed here long enough.” It’s described dreamily, as if it’s our hero sinking into a warm-hued pillow rather than snapping another guy’s arm behind his back under fluorescent […]

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