Nothing to Do with Love

Host Meg Wolitzer presents two unconventional love stories, one classic, one contemporary, that avoid the usual tropes of “meet cute,” “opposites attract,” or “happily ever after” but are still engaging. In “Love in the Slump,” by Evelyn Waugh, clueless upper-crust newlyweds are sent on a comic odyssey. The reader is Jane Kaczmarek. And Esther Yi’s “Moon” explores something we often mistake for love—obsession--as a young woman is drawn farther and farther into K-Pop fandom. The story was selected by guest editor Min Jin Lee for Best American Short Stories 2023. It’s read by Hettienne Park. And we hear Lee’s and Park’s thoughts about the story.