Money

by Kathryn Mockler

Originally published on April 9, 2010

When Johnny wakes up he can’t remember where he is. Two nights at his parents’, a night at his sister’s, and last night on Mike’s couch. It’s all been disorienting. For the past two years, Johnny has been waking, pissing, shitting, showering, eating, working, and sleeping at the same time every day. The routine has grown on him like another layer of skin.

In the Company of Angels: A Novel

reviewed by Liam Mac Sheoinin

Originally published on April 9, 2010

Thomas E. Kennedy’s In the Company of Angels : A Novel is an elegy to the human heart. It begins on the couch of a Copenhagen psychiatrist treating a Chilean torture victim, Bernardo Greene.

Levels Have Changed

by Jill Okpalugo-Nwajiaku

Originally published on April 9, 2010

There is something you must know my dearest cousin Ego. These days I am not only a big idol, but I think and go for stuff that moves me beyond boundaries. Up I have gone till I soar like the pound sterling against the naira.

On Hair

by Vanessa Blakeslee

Originally published on April 9, 2010

You can still feel the bristles as your mother runs the brush through your hair. The mane sweeps down your back, brushes the waist of your jeans. Every morning, you and your mother meet for this ritual. Some days, she gives you two high ponytails, the knobs at their elastic-bound bases like the knobs of [...]

Precipice of Questions

by Bill Yarrow

Originally published on April 9, 2010

He stood with the bride of quietness on the precipice of questions and whistled the music of the spheres. His bride wore cropped pants and a paisley top. She was the summer of 1979 and the winter of his discontent. He talked to her of navigation, excavation, irrigation, nolo contendere. She heard him with impunity [...]

Reconsidering Thomas Williams

reviewed by John McIntyre

Originally published on April 9, 2010

The Hair of Harold Roux is a densely layered novel, but despite the metafictional elements in play, Irving’s characterization of Williams as “a wonderfully old-fashioned writer…that dinosaur among contemporary writers of fiction, an actual storyteller,” is sound. These qualities are in fact the foundation of my regard for Thomas Williams.

Look East

by Jeremy O'Brine

Originally published on April 9, 2010

I’m missing nothing and moving at a rate I don’t think I’ve moved at for years. To others, I must blur. My muscles are pistons, my blood petrol. I can feel my hair start to dampen with sweat, can feel it on my back and thighs. I don’t look at the clock, don’t stop.

Bone Density

by Bill Yarrow

Originally published on April 9, 2010

The Fauves are visiting. Come to redesign the patio, they have upstaged the heart. They have brought with them their own music and solemn gondoliers. Madame Fauve, with a twisted braid, is dancing. So is the decadence in the wall. I applaud the thoroughness of the measurers, but cannot sanction their pervasiveness. The Fauves must [...]

The Blood of Raisins

by Bryce Berkowitz

Originally published on April 9, 2010

I was prepping the bull for a ride by looping a belt around its testicles when Walter from the Mission put a call into Mom, said her brother Richard was in trouble. I wash my hands. I use more soap. We drive through the night.

Updating Your Author Bio

by Richard Luck

Originally published on April 2, 2010

Authors often ask us “Can you please update my bio on the magazine?”  Fortunately, authors can update the bio themselves.  It’s very easy.  Here’s how: Login to Pif Magazine: Click on the Login link in the side bar, and provide your username and password when prompted. After you have successfully logged in, on the left-hand [...]