On "The Ghost of Frederick Oppenheim" by Brian Baer (2366 words) ***

This story is full of parallels. A narrator who lacks much "pride" in himself works in a museum that lacks much pride in itself--forgotten artworks, a staff free to make things up about the art and artists as it cares to; a narrator who has lost interest in his own painting or in finding a real job--and whose girlfriend has lost interest in him. The parallels act as sort of guide that do well for setting up the ending and the piece's ambiguity. If this man inserts himself into a forgotten world, is he announcing himself or wiping himself out? Read the story here at the Northville Review.