Take a photo of a barcode or cover
brookebowlin 's review for:
Liberation Day: Stories
by George Saunders
I was excited for this as I enjoyed Tenth of December and Pastoralia. I like the themes Saunders explores and appreciate his ability to experiment and successfully take on a variety of voices and perspectives. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book. However, I was a bit disappointed that this collection seemed more reminiscent of past work than it was original. "Liberation Day" held a similar premise to "The Semplica Girl Diaries" while "Ghoul" mirrored "Pastoralia." We see repeated use of people used as fixtures in homes or as entertainment in theme parks, experimenting with the minds of society's discards, a manipulative use of work, and monitoring others as a social responsibility. While I can appreciate the argument for this being Saunders' style and preferred concepts to write within, I did expect more experimentation or at least deviation from the premises of previous work. Overall, I'm not complaining— I'm interested by the exploration of these ideas and enjoy Saunders' style. It simply felt as though I was reading something familiar.