i'm currently reading in persuasion nation, a book of short stories by george saunders. and i'm sort of in love.
i first came across saunders listening to the new yorker fiction podcast, which is a monthly podcast where your favorite authors read and discuss works of fiction from the new yorker's archives. you come across amazing things like tobias wolff reading denis johnson's emergency, or jeffrey eugenides reading harold brodkey’s short story spring fugue. it's absolutely, hands down one of the greatest podcasts of all podcasting time. if you ask me.
anyway, joshua ferris does this fantastic reading of saunders' adams, a grotesquely hilarious and accurate emotional analogy of the iraq invasion. if you have a half hour, you should listen to it. it's engrossing and totally laugh out loud funny.
the stories of in persuasion nation are equally satirical. and if you like vonnegut, i highly recommend saunders. they share some of the best qualities, particularly the ability to balance pure havoc and over the top hilarity.
so, yea. george saunders. remember that name next time you go to the library.
1 comment:
wowza I was reading bits and pieces of this book a while back when Michael had borrowed it from a friend....bits and pieces because Mikey doesn't like when I take over the books he reads.
Anyhow Grotesquely Hilarious is a good title because they are indeed, the red bow = grotesque... I CAN SPEAK = hilarious!! I found them to be satirical fantasies of the future of consumerism ... the new cannibalism where brand names and products eat us alive!
If anyone is interested in having a taste of this collection they can find the first story and snippets of others here:http://books.google.ca/books?id=BRMDdawwKpwC&printsec=frontcover&dq=in+persuasion+nation&source=bl&ots=ZxZO3wXBxo&sig=0C94rhAlrvLrnOXSwWO8NEFo39E&hl=en&ei=nKyoS5CBGsKUtgfuo6iWAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CA8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false
xoxoxooxoxoxoxo
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