Reviews

Liberation Day by George Saunders

savaging's review against another edition

5.0

I think my response to Saunders is more diagnostic of me than him. Sometimes I'm very tender and his satire feels crass. Sometimes I'm very serious and his politics seem silly. Right now I am in a space where this collection hit just right. Loved it. Let us go forth and liberate.

pollardgreens's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It's a true mark of a master that 1/3 of the stories in this collection are really, really similar -- both to each other and to other stories Saunders has published before, yet it's still a pretty towering and affirming read! I'll let George take me to a vague, stratified dystopia any ol' day.

bairdo's review against another edition

challenging fast-paced

4.5

cpq's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

dongchiot's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

borderhopper's review against another edition

dark funny inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Highly, hugely creative collection of short stories. 

ramblingravioli's review against another edition

I ran out of time to finish this book as I didn’t finish it within the loan period for my library. Hopefully I’ll come back to it as I loved the short stories!

tarrowood's review against another edition

5.0

This was one of the most thought-provoking reads in awhile for me. The title story was by far the strongest, and I wish Saunders had built up to that one, but I understand the idea of putting it first to encapsulate the reader. This collection had a clear unifying theme that made me want to continue on after every story; yet each story was different and unique also. More Saunders will show up on my timeline, for sure

quizlitbooks's review against another edition

4.0

George Saunders is one of my favorite authors and he writes short stories as well as anyone at this time.
His latest collection Liberation Day: Stories is his 5th short story volume and his first for 9 years.
As always his stories have some wonderfully inventive settings, here we have Liberation Day
the title story a dystopian fable about enslaved people forced to vocalize for the entertainment of the wealthy. The themes of imprisonment and coercion and also present in Ghoul and Elliot Spencer.
In The Mom of Bold Action, a suburban mom and dad rush to defend their young son, who’s been accosted by one of two neighborhood drifters — but nobody’s sure which one.

Though there is a lot of humor in it, Liberation Day is less playful than Saunders’s earlier work, more anchored in the events of current times.

It is a fantastic read and I've made it the Book of the Month for May 2023 on my site
https://quizlit.org/quizlits-book-of-the-month-may-2023

willdinola's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0