Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever

With Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever, Justin Taylor presents a collection of stories about young people in the 1990s who are anything but collected. One young man reappears in his parents home when his money runs out. Another tries his hand at black magic when his crush doesn't reciprocate his affection. And peppered throughout are characters who seek a sense of stability in the comforts of angsty subcultures (think Goths and anarchists.) Yet while Taylor shows a commitment to character-driven narratives about diasporic youths, stilted dialogue often fails to capture the voice of young Americans and plot momentum is frequently stymied by awkward blocks of exposition. Despite these shortcomings, Taylor shines when he is able to harness the impulse to over-explain. A wonderful uneasiness emerges, for example, through the course of "In My Heart I Am Already Gone," as Taylor subtly suggests an incestuous attraction of his narrator to his cousin. Taylor shows tremendous empathy for young misfits striving to find a place in the world, even if his ear is not quite attuned to the true voices of Generation Y.