#854 The Barn at the End of Our Term- Karen Russell
The 19th and former president Rutherford B. Hayes finds himself reincarnated into the body of a horse unable to speak or make himself known. He is brought into a large barn with twenty-one other horses. Eleven of those are also ex-presidents from all eras. They don’t know if this is heaven or hell, or something else. But being themselves, they fall into old desires and habits.
“In the yard, the other presidents are still hungry for power.”
“Many of the presidents have sworn themselves in to similarly foolish titles: Governor of the Cow Pastures, Commanding General of the Standing Chickens. They reminisce about their political opponents like old lovers. There is a creeping emptiness to winning an office that nobody else is seeking.”
They wonder about their legacy and some try to escape finding something unnatural is keeping them from the ability to leap over the small fence. Hayes has a revelation about creating your own problems stemming from expectation and vanity. He is able to leap the fence and escape, but escape to where?
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