Ms. Hempel Chronicles, Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum’s new and very funny second novel (her first, Madeleine is Sleeping, was a finalist for the 2004 National Book Award), presents as a series of loosely related but satisfyingly cohesive chapters that began their lives as short stories in a variety of publications, including The New Yorker, The Georgia Review and the Best American Short Stories. Read more…