Tenth of December
by George Saunders, Ben Clark, Yannick Garcia Porres · first published 2012
100% recommend
One of the most important and blazingly original writers of his generation, George Saunders is an undisputed master of the short story, and Tenth of December is his most honest, accessible, and moving collection yet. In the taut opener, “Victory Lap,” a boy witnesses the attempted abduction of the girl next door and is faced with a harrowing choice: Does he ignore what he sees, or override years of smothering advice from his parents and act? In “Home,” a combat-damaged soldier moves back in with his mother and struggles to reconcile the world he left with the one to which he has returned. A
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…astonishment. Left me speechless with how he made the language sing. Also great (in no particular order): - The Sewing Girl's Tale (non-fiction) - The Odyssey (poem) - Tropic of Cancer (novel) - Tenth of December (short story collection). - Endurance (non-fiction) - The Billion Dollar Spy (non-fiction) - Agent Sonya (non-fiction) - Agent Running in the Field (novel) - Little Dorrit (novel) To be honest,…
on “Ask HN: What is the best thing you read in 2022?” ↗…Choke and Survivor as gifts. Also disappointed that George Saunders didn't make the list. His essays in The Brain-dead Megaphone are great and his short stories, especially Isabelle and others is The Tenth of December, are heart-warming.
on “Ask HN: What book have you given as a gift?” ↗…George Saunders - probably the best living short story writer. His way of writing is both out there and grounded at the same time. Not much sci-fi (if anything it’s whimsical) though. His collection Tenth of December is probably my favorite.
on “Life is more than an engineering problem” ↗