This is The New Yorker Fiction Podcast from The New Yorker magazine.

I'm Deborah Treesman, fiction editor at The New Yorker.

Each month we invite a writer to choose a story from the magazine's archives to read and discuss.

This month we're going to hear two ruminations on a homeless brother by David Means,

which was published in The New Yorker in May of 2017.

Rainer Shine, for about a year and a half, give or take,

he has slogged with the same gimp, the same loping swing of arms,

the same cigarette burning between his fingers, and he's rooted in the same trash cans,

boom on on the corner of Midland and Franklin, or the one on the corner of River in front.

The story was chosen by Otesa Moshfeg, who's the author of four novels,

including my year of rest and relaxation, and most recently La Pfona.

Hi Otesa.

Hi, Deborah.

So thank you for coming back.

It's my pleasure.

It's my pleasure.

And I'm wondering how you first came across this story by David Means,

and what made you want to talk about it?

I went looking for this story.

I had seen some of David's work in different literary journals in The New Yorker.

But hadn't really taken his work on as something to study.

And then when I found this story, it baffled me so hard

...