Book Review - Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders
Saunders isn't explicitly a genre writer, either by brand or content. Some of his stories are straight literary fiction about weird people socially hobbled by their stupidity, narcissism, or both. When he does lean into genre fiction, it's often just a spice added to his regular style. He doesn't get tied down in world building or the other traps that can hamstring stories. Tenth of December is Saunders' fourth short story collection and demonstrates his two best skills in almost every entry: voice and economy.
That often means that he is writing directly in the voice of the character. The opening story shifts between characters a couple of times, each with a dramatically different tone. The economy comes in each character develops seeing the next part of the story starting, moving the reader along like a baton in a relay. Being able to create unique characters along with a complete plot is what makes Saunders a master at short fiction. There’s two teens who were friends: one a popular girl, the other an odd loner with overbearing parents with rules for everything. There is a kidnapper trying to prove his competence. The narrative flow between these points of view is effortless, and it’s an engaging start to the collection.
The Semplica Girls Diaries is probably the second longest story in the collection. It’s centered on the voice of a middle-aged dad writing his journal. Saunders gives the story a stream of consciousness feel, which fits the voice of the character. This is a genre story about a world where third world women are wired up in big lawn displays for wealthy Americans. Or in the case of the narrator, someone spending money trying to look rich. The genre elements of this story are just added as background as a guy bitches about money, his father-in-law, his job, and how ungrateful his kids are. You still get a great ethical sci-fi story, but you also get the character development and emotion of a literary story.
Home is the longest story in the book. There is a lot of heavy material about PTSD, the reflexive disingenuous deference to veterans, and class issues. There is a weird aside about a VR shop staffed by more function veterans than our main character, but it feels more like atmosphere than plot. This may be one of the weaker stories, but it is packed densely with a lot of emotion and frustration. It never entirely comes together, but that’s because we’re experiencing the world through someone not quite right.
These three highlights should give you the right idea of what kind of writer Saunders is. I have been a fan since first reading Pastoralia, and think he has a unique take on modern fiction. His closest analog is Kurt Vonnegut, but with far less whimsy. He does prove that the division between genre fiction and literary fiction is largely a marketing term. Saunders also shows there is a lot more to short stories than angling to get a novel published. I will always pick up any of his anthologies.
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