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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
medium-paced
A few of Saunders' best stories and a number of stories that really didn't do anything for me. I wish there was a bit more diversity in his voice throughout these stories. It's a strong voice and funny, but one that gets a little redundant when reading multiple stories back-to-back.
I'd also love for Saunders to explore different conceits in his short stories. Right now all of his stories (going all the way back to Civilwarland in Bad Decline) are based around one of four questions: (1) what if two weird people were angry at one another? (2) what if two weird people were in love with one another? (3) what if theme park employees had souls? (4) what if people had ornamental slaves?
Story Ranking:
I'd also love for Saunders to explore different conceits in his short stories. Right now all of his stories (going all the way back to Civilwarland in Bad Decline) are based around one of four questions: (1) what if two weird people were angry at one another? (2) what if two weird people were in love with one another? (3) what if theme park employees had souls? (4) what if people had ornamental slaves?
Story Ranking:
- (tie). Liberation Day - Basically just "The Semplica-Girl Diaries" but easier to read. 10/10
- (tie). Ghoul - Just the right amount of odd-ball humor and heartfelt tenderness I want from a Saunders story. 10/10
- Elliott Spencer - Fun to figure out and heartbreaking but it didn't seem to be doing anything with its political commentary. This felt very CNN responding to a Fox News story to "own maga". 7.5/10
- Mother's Day - Sad and funny. Not much more. 6/10
- My House - I really liked where this story went, but I think I wanted a bit more of it. The obsession from the narrator didn't quite feel believable by the end of the very very short story. 6/10
- A Thing at Work - I'll be real, I don't remember what this one was about. ?/10
- Mom of Bold Action - I also don't really remember this one. ?/10
- Love Letter - If this story was a person, it would have a "Hakeem Jeffries 2028" bumper sticker and a "Make America Care Again" hat. 2/10
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Brilliant brilliant. One story even had a happy ending...?!
His best collection yet. Usually there’s a story in each collection I don’t warm up to, but I liked every one.
truly exceptional and disturbing short stories, lots of petty grievances and erased memories. very absurdist. the titular story was my favorite by far, and I liked most of the individual stories but I disliked them as a collection. as a collection, I found them somehow both repetitive and disjointed.
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
George Saunders’ short stories always expand my thinking and blow my mind. Liberation Day is no exception though it feels darker than his previous work, still devoted to resilience but in a way that feels like his ideas of hope need to pummel their way through dread in order to make it to the other side. These stories light up with outrageous sci-fi circumstances and deep tenderness, with a wild imagination that confronts an ever-present threat of fascism. He exercises athletic restraint and exquisite poetic details to describe extractive human economies, sweet flirtations between coworkers, and spicy jealousies between neighbors with equal care. It left me believing in humans’ innate goodness even in worlds that have gone strangely foul, and as Saunders work always does, with a sense of comfort in the logic of how love and human behavior and the afterlife gently, inevitably intersect.
While I can appreciate what Saunders is trying to do, this wasn't my cup of tea.
I would say the main theme throughout these short stories is adherence to the rules, or lack thereof, and its intersection with selfishness. I didn't like any of the characters. Most of them had a creative approach to morality, but the ones that didn't were almost worse in their blandness.
The commentary on class, envy and a distorted sense of justice was well done, but I'm someone who likes satire and black humour, and the tone of this book was bleaker than what I find enjoyable. Your taste may be different. "The Mom of Bold Action" was definitely my favourite out of the bunch, with a protagonist trying to navigate justice and guilt from a very base level position of privilege that's very relatable in a horrible way.
I would say the main theme throughout these short stories is adherence to the rules, or lack thereof, and its intersection with selfishness. I didn't like any of the characters. Most of them had a creative approach to morality, but the ones that didn't were almost worse in their blandness.
The commentary on class, envy and a distorted sense of justice was well done, but I'm someone who likes satire and black humour, and the tone of this book was bleaker than what I find enjoyable. Your taste may be different. "The Mom of Bold Action" was definitely my favourite out of the bunch, with a protagonist trying to navigate justice and guilt from a very base level position of privilege that's very relatable in a horrible way.