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Book Reviewed by:In a series of short stories, George Saunders explores consumerism gone haywire in a country and era somewhat like our own.
George Saunders has earned enthusiastic acclaim and a devoted cult-following with his first two story collections and the recent novella The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil. With his new book, In Persuasion Nation, Saunders ups the ante in every way, and is poised to break out to a wide new audience.
The stories In Persuasion Nation are easily his best work yet. "The Red Bow,"about a town consumed by pet-killing hysteria, won a 2004 National Magazine Award and "Bohemians," the story of two supposed Eastern European widows trying to fit in in suburban USA, is included in The Best American Short Stories 2005. His new book includes both unpublished work, and stories that first appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, and Esquire. The stories in this volume work together as a whole whose impact far exceeds the simple sum of its parts. Fans of Saunders know and love him for his sharp and hilarious satirical eye. But In Persuasion Nation also includes more personal and poignant pieces that reveal a new kind of emotional conviction in Saunders's writing.
Saunders's work in the last six years has come to be recognized as one of the strongest-and most consoling-cries in the wilderness of the millennium's political and cultural malaise. In Persuasion Nation's sophistication and populism should establish Saunders once and for all as this generation's literary voice of wisdom and humor in a time when we need it most.
My Amendment
Mr Terence Rackman
Leadtown Courier-Examiner
Leadtown, PA, 13245
Re: "Not in This Town, Friend," June 15 issue, "My Turn" Lifestyle Section
Dear Mr. Rackman,
Very much enjoyed your recent article and wish to weigh in with some of my thoughts on this troubling matter. I agree with all you had to say. Like any sane person, I am against Same-Sex Marriage, and in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban it.
To tell the truth, I feel that, in the interest of true moral rigor, it is necessary for us to go a step further, which is why I would like to propose a supplementary constitutional amendment.
In the town where I live, I have frequently observed a phenomenon I have come to think of as Samish-Sex Marriage. Take, for example, "K," a male friend of mine, of slight build, with a ponytail. "K" is married to "S," a tall, stocky female with extremely short hair, almost a crewcut. Often, while watching "...
These are outrageous, compelling and very funny stories but, as always, you don't have to take BookBrowse's word for it, instead you can read a complete short story for yourself at BookBrowse, and in the sidebar you'll find a link to audio downloads of two more stories from the collection...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
George Saunders was born in 1958 and raised on the south side of Chicago. In
1981 he received a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines
in Golden, Colorado. According to his bio he has been an environment engineer, a
technical writer and geophysical engineer, he has also worked in Sumatra, as a
doorman in Beverly Hills, a roofer in Chicago, a convenience store clerk, a
guitarist in a Texas country-and-western band, and a knuckle-puller in a West
Texas slaughterhouse.
In 1988 he received a masters in creative writing from Syracuse
University, and has been on the faculty since 1997 (he has also been a visiting
writer at various universities, and an adjunct professor at others).
To date he has ...
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If you liked In Persuasion Nation, try these:
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth
by Kevin Wilson
Published 2009
Southern gothic at its best, laced with humor and pathos, these wonderfully inventive stories explore the relationship between loss and death and the many ways we try to cope with both.
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
by Karen Russell
Published 2007
A collection of ten short stories, beautifully written and exuberantly imagined, with an emotional precision behind their wondrous surfaces that makes them unforgettable.
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