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brettpet's review against another edition
5.0
Unlike the fully realized Lincoln in the Bardo (my first Saunders book), CivilWarLand is about a multitude of things. Tribalism, indentured servitude, consumerism, etc, but the main through line for me was the theme of artificiality. The American sense of community is not what it was when this book was published in 1996—wealth inequalities have skyrocketed, sense of togetherness has been further fractured by a global pandemic and increasing suburban sprawl, and political identities have become more radicalized. There's a joke on Twitter that Americans only understand things in fast food terms—41 years ago is not a time before the Reagan era would forever change the course of history, it was when the McRib was released. On the recent death of Queen Elizabeth II, one user joked "for Americans, this is like if the burger died". In CivilWarLand story "Bounty", a fast food restaurant becomes a hangout for religious zealots, committed to burning themselves in a deep fryer as an act of penance.
Artificiality is a subject that authors rarely show this much attention to, despite how much the concept invades our daily life. We furnish our homes with fake plants because we're scared to take care of real ones, we keep our lawns neat and tidy to try to emulate a vision of a French monarchy trend that was co-opted in the post-World War era, and we fill our bodies with microplastics because we're too lazy to do something about it. For most of the characters in CivilWarLand, artificial communities are the only protection from the terrors of the outside world—roving gangs, unemployment, or slavery. Do we live artificial lifestyles because we perceive them to be safer than the alternative? Do we work in tiny gray boxes instead of doing something more fulfilling because we fear losing office culture would be the final death blow to American life? Do we ache to experience spectacle in every free moment because we will lose these things in the collapse?
This book is hilarious, prophetic (unfortunately), and reminiscent of prime Vonnegut.
Artificiality is a subject that authors rarely show this much attention to, despite how much the concept invades our daily life. We furnish our homes with fake plants because we're scared to take care of real ones, we keep our lawns neat and tidy to try to emulate a vision of a French monarchy trend that was co-opted in the post-World War era, and we fill our bodies with microplastics because we're too lazy to do something about it. For most of the characters in CivilWarLand, artificial communities are the only protection from the terrors of the outside world—roving gangs, unemployment, or slavery. Do we live artificial lifestyles because we perceive them to be safer than the alternative? Do we work in tiny gray boxes instead of doing something more fulfilling because we fear losing office culture would be the final death blow to American life? Do we ache to experience spectacle in every free moment because we will lose these things in the collapse?
This book is hilarious, prophetic (unfortunately), and reminiscent of prime Vonnegut.
jimcanread's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
lena_kellogg's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
davidpascuzzo's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
earlyandalone's review against another edition
4.0
This book went by too fast. It was my first George Saunders book and I can see why he's considered the greatest living short story writer we have.
I admit, I was expecting the stories to be a little more light. But that's where, ultimately, the beauty comes--from all of the darkness and suffering in these stories. Saunders is a master at creating characters we like, characters we are rooting for, who are constantly suffering and messing up and being human. It's this human frailty that makes them so easy to cheer for, even when most of the time, they are crushed.
In Bounty, the novella, Saunders paints an incredibly bleak picture of our future, where genetically flawed people are enslaved, lynched, and driven from their homes and families. Cole, one of these Flaweds, sets out on a quest to rescue his sister, Connie, from what he believes are the evil clutches of a Normal who has taken her away from BountyLand, a theme park where the two worked. He faces incredible pain, prejudice, and brutality, but it is in the small moments where he contemplates freedoms, like the joy of being able to drive through a drive-thru, buy a bag of hamburgers, and drive away into the night with your lover, or having a backyard, or smelling the grass--small freedoms that we take for granted every day that are really beautiful, when you think about it. All of these stories force us to think about it, and that's why they're so great.
I admit, I was expecting the stories to be a little more light. But that's where, ultimately, the beauty comes--from all of the darkness and suffering in these stories. Saunders is a master at creating characters we like, characters we are rooting for, who are constantly suffering and messing up and being human. It's this human frailty that makes them so easy to cheer for, even when most of the time, they are crushed.
In Bounty, the novella, Saunders paints an incredibly bleak picture of our future, where genetically flawed people are enslaved, lynched, and driven from their homes and families. Cole, one of these Flaweds, sets out on a quest to rescue his sister, Connie, from what he believes are the evil clutches of a Normal who has taken her away from BountyLand, a theme park where the two worked. He faces incredible pain, prejudice, and brutality, but it is in the small moments where he contemplates freedoms, like the joy of being able to drive through a drive-thru, buy a bag of hamburgers, and drive away into the night with your lover, or having a backyard, or smelling the grass--small freedoms that we take for granted every day that are really beautiful, when you think about it. All of these stories force us to think about it, and that's why they're so great.
nickdleblanc's review against another edition
4.0
Just finished my first book of 2020. A good read, with one beautiful story and three other greats. Saunders reads as being very frustrated here, something his fantastic Author’s Note provides some insight into. The use of language throughout the stories is confident and vaults frequently from being disturbingly direct to unnaturally over-constructed. This may present as a stumbling block at first but after the first fifteen pages or so, it opens up to the reader becomes clear as a stylistic choice, thusly becoming easier to read. His stories hold a deeply suspicious and cynical view of the American obsession with capitalism and “work” and remain difficult to categorize. There’s a novella which is directly influenced by Huck Finn if Twain had instead set the story in some dystopian future where mutagenics (both natural and man-made) have separated people into two groups, “Flawed” and “Normal.” Our narrator, a Flawed with claws for feet is trying to find his sister who has been sold into what he presumed to be slavery somewhere outside of the strange amusement park-like business which they are indentured to. Having said this, I would hesitate to call it sci-fi. It almost feels too close to reality to call it anything but that. -
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tl;dr: A very American collection of brutal and beautiful satirical stories. Best bets are “Isabelle,” “The 400-Pound CEO,” “Bounty,” and the title story which opens the book.
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tl;dr: A very American collection of brutal and beautiful satirical stories. Best bets are “Isabelle,” “The 400-Pound CEO,” “Bounty,” and the title story which opens the book.
jakej's review against another edition
medium-paced
4.0
All of these stories are derived from one or two general templates (i.e "beta male who works at an insane near-future workplace that requires him to compromise his ethics and dignity, for ultimately no reward") but it still works as a collection, a lot of very strong ideas here. 400 pound CEO and Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz are next level.
bush42's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
really funny, full of compelling images and people. lots of sections where saunders just makes up a guy and gives him a 3 page monologue about some bullshit. too cynical for its own good, i think. spends so long with its spikes on that it's hard to see the bright spots, even when they're there.
tevreads's review against another edition
5.0
The first book by George Saunders, and my first time listening to an audiobook. ‘CivilWarLand in Bad Decline’ was listened to for me with a deep admiration of Saunders, I’m currently writing a piece on his craft and have read extensively about his journey to become a writer and how this short story and novella collection came into fruition. As Saunders let go of the shackles of trying to be a ‘serious’ writer that was stuck in the voice of other writers and not his own, ‘CivilWarLand in Bad Decline’ is the result. My favourite piece of this book was ‘The 400-Pound CEO’ which reminded me of the famous George Saunders style of absurd humour.
eeechooo's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes