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trin's review
4.0
The political/cultural essays are great and feel ahead of their time; the travelogues are rich and strange and wonderful; the pieces about literature hint at why Saunders is clearly a good teacher. Meanwhile, the satirical writing is cringey and awful. (It's official: I don't like David Sedaris doing overly obvious and cynical fiction, and I don't like George Saunders' subtle-as-an-anvil "nonfiction" satire.) So: skip those or hurry through them, and this is a really strong collection.
geoffdgeorge's review
George Saunders made me laugh out loud, but then he would sober me up right quick. Let him do the same for you.
maisiegw's review
2.0
At first I was like, "Wow, this was written in 2007?!" And then I was like, "Wow, this was written in 2007..."
jstrahan's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this! Worried it would be a bit too smug ‘opinion columny’, but only felt that sort of ‘person who would be described as a humorist’ energy a couple of times. Loved the travelogue/investigation bits the most. Made me both well up and also chuckle so all round very good
aholeistodig's review
5.0
I would probably let George Saunders cut off one of my fingers, just to say I'd interacted with him.
Braindead Megaphone is all kinds of funny and sad and mordant and just plain fantastic writing--and don't take my word for it: Jonathan Franzen, Sarah Vowell, Zadie Smith, Thomas Pynchon, and Michiko Kakutani all loved it, too.
[http://www.inpersuasionnation.com/saundersmania/art/saundersrees.gif]
Braindead Megaphone is all kinds of funny and sad and mordant and just plain fantastic writing--and don't take my word for it: Jonathan Franzen, Sarah Vowell, Zadie Smith, Thomas Pynchon, and Michiko Kakutani all loved it, too.
[http://www.inpersuasionnation.com/saundersmania/art/saundersrees.gif]
patkohn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
rpmahnke's review
3.0
I saw George Saunders a few nights ago and picked this up at the table out front, since I think I have most of his fiction that was for sale. Uncharacteristically, I stopped reading this after 100+ pages. Maybe I’m just not in the right mood and I’ll come back to it. The writing is adroit, but it’s too cute.
jamesthesnake's review
3.0
This is shocking that it was written before social media was omni present lots of how society continues to function
elizala's review
2.0
Some of this is so good ("Nostalgia," "A Manifesto"), and some of it (the Dubai essay, etc.) has aged SO poorly.