I am delighted to report that Thomas Mallon, A Critic at Large for The New Yorker, dropped my name in his November 21, 2011, column. In his piece titled “Never Happened: Fictions of Alternate History,” he discusses several works and authors along with some of the merits and demerits of the alternate history genre.
Here’s the quote about my story in its entirety:
“Over the past view decades, the assassination of John F. Kennedy has become one of alt-history’s most fertile furrows. An anthology, “Alternate Kennedys,” appeared twenty years ago, and included a story called “The Winterberry” (1992), by Nicholas A. DiChario. It featured a brain-damaged, childlike John F. Kennedy, who, having survived an assassination attempt, has been locked away for decades in what seems to be Hyannis Port.”
He goes on to talk a bit more about JFK alternate history stories in particular, mentioning both Don DeLillo’s Libra and Stephen King’s new novel 11/22/63 (which I’m currently reading). For me, this is a gigantic thrill. I’ve admired the magazine for years, and to see my name in it made for a very nice Thanksgiving. Thank you, Mr. Mallon. I’m currently trying to figure out how to frame it.
My name notwithstanding, it’s a great article and offers an interesting and informative overview of a few of the seminal works in the field. Highly recommended!
