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ryanklindsay's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Absolutely engrossing and brilliant.
joepal's review
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Because GS is one of my favorites I decided to give this one a shot and I'm so glad I did. It gave me a digestible intro to some Russian stories and authors that might have been difficult to grapple with otherwise. The mood isn't overly academic but things are definitely tailored toward aspiring writers, and this can sometimes be dry (I almost lost steam at the very beginning during the page-at-a-time technical reading). But mostly I was lost in his enthusiasm for the stories and it didn't feel like English class but just a friendly and funny discussion that was equally sympathetic to reader and writer. I also did learn a lot! -- about what makes us respond to a story, specific notes on form that would have gone over my head, and lots of fun context on Russian culture and translation. This book is less about critique and more about unpretentious celebration of these stories in all their ambiguity, and it reminded me why reading fiction is important and also that Chekhov is goated.
josenoir's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
eleanorrosecugal's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
jackroche's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
My main takeaway is probably an overpowering affection for George Saunders. Regardless of the stories themselves, his sections were always breezy and entertaining. I found many of his lessons to be endearingly similar to how I think about storytelling, not just the lessons themselves - as he points out, most writers give you the same set of principles just phrased differently - but also the way he presents and deconstructs them. It makes sense - we’re both STEM bros. The downside is that not much of his analysis felt new to me, but it was still refreshing - and every once in a while, especially after the Turgenev story, he hit on something really special.
As far as the stories themselves go… fine. All clearly excellent, none really up my alley save the last. I’ll probably check out some more Chekhov and Tolstoy, but I came away much more excited to read more Saunders.
As far as the stories themselves go… fine. All clearly excellent, none really up my alley save the last. I’ll probably check out some more Chekhov and Tolstoy, but I came away much more excited to read more Saunders.