Karl Taro Greenfeld’s Triburbia was one of our favorite novels of this summer — but is novel even the most precise word? In truth, the book is collection of linked short stories revolving around a neighborhood, a master patchwork that has both the feel of a solid, complete novel and the flexibility of a collection. We asked Greenfeld to tell us about some of his other favorite collections of linked stories that either feel like novels or are billed as such, he obliged.

Greenfeld tells us: “Before I wrote Triburbia, my novel-in-stories set in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, I had always read and enjoyed linked collections of stories. At their best, they reminded me of the Disney short film “Nature’s Half Acre,” in which a tiny meadow is observed by time-lapse camera and micro-photography over the course of four seasons and we get to see all these changes, particularly among the plants and insects, that the naked eye would never normally detect. (When a mouse or a rabbit shows up in that film, it’s a big fucking deal.) That was my goal when I was writing Triburbia — I wanted to illuminate this one little ecosystem — and I often looked to and thought about these collections of linked stories as I wrote Triburbia.” Click through to check out his picks, and if he didn’t select your favorite, be sure to add to his list in the comments. … Read More