by the editors of the New York Times Magazine is an experiment in capturing a historical moment in time through short fiction. Inspired by the original Decameron, which was written in 1353 by Boccaccio as the plague ripped through Florence, these stories were commissioned by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction, including Colm Tóibín, Margaret Atwood, Mona Awad, Rachel Kushner, Yiyun Li, and David Mitchell. Unlike the Boccaccio’s Decameron however, which told tales that were bawdy, funny, or tragic but avoided discussing the plague, these modern stories process the acute experience of living through the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic through fiction. It’s a remarkable collection.