"Encounters with Unexpected Animals" by Bret Anthony Johnston

While I really enjoyed yesterday's read, my favorite short story in 2013's BASS is Bret Anthony Johnston's "Encounters with Unexpected Animals." Like Moore's character in "Referential," Johnston's protagonist is also a parent trying to do right by his child.

But, what is especially impressive in "Encounters..." is the high tension that Johnston achieves in so few pages, Lambright's clear and very present danger.

You'll want to sit down for this one:

(Disclosure: I've had the good fortune to be Johnston's student in both the Iowa Summer Writing program and at Bennington, so I may be a bit biased--but there's no denying the brilliance of this story.)

http://www.esquire.com/fiction/encounters-with-unexpected-animals-story-0312

BAJ