The New Yorker Review: What We're Doing

This is a review of the short story, "What We're Doing," by Ellis Weiner from the November 15th edition of The New Yorker.

Mr. Ellis Weiner was born on October 31, 1950 in Baltimore, MD. He graduated the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. He started his career as an editor for National Lampoon for a couple of years, and then he contributed to magazines like The New Yorker, Mademoiselle, The New York Times Magazine, The Paris Review, and Spy. He became a children's writer for television in 1985. He now has two children and spends time in both Pennsylvania and Los Angeles.

Weiner's story, "What We're Doing," caught me off guard and almost bored me at the start. But it had a way of surprisingly keeping me interested until the end. The pacing could be a little bit quicker, but it keeps the reader engaged.

The overall message of the story still leaves a few questions. It's the kind of story that if someone asked me, I'd say I knew, but really it's still a bit foggy. The author seems to be commenting on corporate America, but there could be some deeper meaning..

There is a decent use of irony with the purpose of the recalls, and how it ties in with the rest of the story. It's effective how the whole story boils down to one idea in the end.

The voice is very conversational and informal, yet it reads like a well documented chain of events. The switch between first and second person works well with the style of story this is.

The point of view of the story is interesting because it is speaking for the large corporations who would be making the recalls. It is sort of a satyrical look at their thinking towards their business and the public consumer.

Overall, an interesting story that kept my attention but still leaves questions.