In Persuasion Nation

escalations and slippery slopes

George Saunders is a style unto himself. How does he do it? I first discovered him in The New Yorker, and this is the first series of shorts by him that I read. I'm detecting the patterns now - the surrealism, anti-consumerism, satirical-yet-overly-earnest voice, the unreliable narrator/naive POV. The stories in this run a fair gamut, from the relatively relatable (a “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest”-style tale of institutionalized romance; similar to the other stuff he's written), to the charmingly inventive (a scary/hilarious letter from a baby mask company's Customer Support staff), to the downright bizarre (some VERY surreal pieces towards the end).

Generally, I like that Saunders can strike that delicate balance between being outrageous without being alienating - I think it has to do with the earnest/dim-witted narrative voice he often uses. In a way, his stories are like more bizarre Mark Twain, or more understandable Vonnegut/Kilgore Trout. He can really drive a point home, and it's often poignant, revelatory. I didn't go for his more surreal stuff in the end, if only because my suspension of disbelief is only so flexible and - if you're going to write Fight Cluby screeds on the soul-destroying nature of American consumerism - I'd prefer a non-fic essay to a surreal fic. But that's just me.

All in all, bravo! A powerful, incredible writer.

The third of Saunders' short story collections. With each new release, his critical social parody refracts even more; many of these stories dip into the seriously absurd. Still, a lot of power here too.