The Writer’s Coin

How I got here: I love George Sauders’s stories

The first time I read George Saunders (CivilWarLand in Bad Decline and Pastoralia), I knew I had found a fresh voice that sounded like nothing I’d ever read before.

He returns here with his latest book, which is all essays.

His unique voice is what carries all these pieces, and the great thing about it is the way this voice allows his personality to shine through in such a transparent, honest, funny way.

The first essay shares the title with the book and sets the tone for the rest of it. Basically, he’s saying that the media hasn’t been doing its job in our post-9/11 world. Instead of providing nuanced, in-depth coverage, they’ve been a large, loud, megaphone. A braindead megaphone.

Some of the other pieces touch on this same issue, which isn’t anything new, but what makes his writing entertaining is the way he says it. It isn’t condescending, he isn’t wagging any fingers at anyone or judging anyone—he’s simply saying “Hey, look what’s happening. This is not fantastic.”

A few pieces stand out and I’ve grouped them into two categories:

- Literature. There is a piece on Huck Finn (the book) and why it’s such a great work of literature despite the terrible ending. Another is on Barthelme’s short story “The School,” where he discusses the purpose of stories (to not make us groan) and what they can accomplish. Another is about Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five and the unique way he writes about war.
All these essays are entertaining and filled with insightful things, but the thing I like the best is that, at the end of the essay, you want to go and read these books and stories.

- Journalism. He goes to the Mexican-USA border and hangs around with the minutemen. Here you keep waiting for him to take shots at these guys and “expose them.” But he doesn’t, he doesn’t judge and just tells these people’s stories.

There are some shorter pieces that are hilarious (Woof, Proclamation) that remind me of the short stories I first read. You laugh and think “How the hell did he come up with this?”

I didn’t like his last two books (In Persuasion Nation and The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil) nearly as much as his first two story collections, so I was starting to wonder if I had had my fill of Saunders.

But here his voice is back to the funny, self-deprecating style where he stops trying so hard and just does his thing. There are still moments when you think “whoa, this is terrible, stop trying so hard,” (Ask the Optimist is the perfect example) but for the most part this book will satisfy those who enjoy non-fiction and who liked his first two story collections.

Funniest Line: “You filleth my bowl well, I do admit, and on an admirable schedule. But the dancing: I will bite your member, I swear to God.” From Woof: A Plea of Sorts

Coming up Next: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Tags: braindead megaphone, george saunders