The Book-a-Week(?) Project, Week 20

In Persuasion Nation: Stories
George Saunders

If George Saunders were Willy Wonka, I would have already ballooned up like a gigantic blueberry or gotten my fat ass sucked up the chocolate pipe. This is his most recent book, and the best. These stories have urgency to them that didn't seem so desperate in previous collections. Death pops up more frequently ("Brad Carrigan, American"). Humans are at their cruellest, both to other humans ("CommComm") and to animals ("The Red Bow" and the somewhat puzzling inclusion "93990", which details LD50 experiments that one primate is mysteriously unaffected by).

The joy remains, however. When George Saunders loses hope, the world is truly irredeemable.

Next, maybe The Columnist by Jeffery Frank, or Your Disgusting Head by Dr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey.