Summary

“Brief Interviews with Hideous Men” is the first of four short stories in the story collection Brief Interviews with Hideous Men that is given the exact same title. Additionally, each of these four stories is broken down into several different, smaller sub-stories – or, different “interviews” with various “hideous men.” Each new “interview” is presented as if it is found footage, or transcribed from a tape: the stories consist entirely of dialogue. However, only one side of each conversation or “interview” is shared – the words spoken by the “hideous man” in question. When the other character or characters “interviewing” the “hideous man” speak, their specific words are not written, and are instead substituted with the letter “Q.,” for “question.” Interestingly, each conversation still makes coherent sense even though the reader cannot “listen” to its entirety.

Each “brief interview” is given a...