George Saunders

The appearance of a new George Saunders story is always cause for excitement among his steadily growing cult. There really isn’t another contemporary American writer who has tapped so effectively into the absurdities that result from our current climate of cultural confusion. In the process, Saunders has carved out his own niche in unlikely places–the New Yorker, for instance, or Barnes and Noble–where his almost-inimitable style and sensibility remain as jarring as they are refreshing. His latest collection includes many stories originally seen in some of Saunders’ usual magazine forums, as well as previously unpublished work. Though he continues to make his trademark archaeological excursions into a subconscious cluttered with all manner of cognitive dissonance, Saunders is also increasingly willing to rein in the weirdness and deliver stories that are surprisingly straightforward and genuinely poignant.