They think I'm a spy. Me. A Kestrel. A very small falcon.
from “Testimony of Malik, Israeli Agent, Prisoner #287690” by Randa Jarrar
In her short story, Randa Jarrar (author of
A Map of Home) writes about a literal eye in the sky, a kestrel wheeling in circles through the clouds above the Mediterranean and the Middle East. It
's a good life, chasing moths and falling in love with a seagull, until the bird is captured and put in a small metal cage. The story is sad, short, and very effective. It makes me want to find a falcon, stroke its feathers and whisper,
“Please bear in mind, not all humans are like that.
”
Watchlist: 32 Short Stories by Persons of Interest, edited by Bryan Hurt, will be published by O/R Books on May 21. The “persons of interest” contributing short stories to the anthology include Etgar Keret, Robert Coover, Aimee Bender, Jim Shepard, Alissa Nutting, Charles Yu, Cory Doctorow, David Abrams, Randa Jarrar, Katherine Karlin, Miracle Jones, Mark Irwin, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Dale Peck, Bonnie Nadzam, Lucy Corin, Chika Unigwe, Paul Di Filippo, Lincoln Michel, Dana Johnson, Mark Chiusano, Juan Pablo Villalobos, Chanelle Benz, Sean Bernard, Kelly Luce, Zhang Ran, Miles Klee, Carmen Maria Machado, Steven Hayward, Deji Bryce Olukotun, Alexis Landau and Bryan Hurt.
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