Pastoralia

The stories that George Saunders tells manage to be simultaneously smart, funny, and kind. They're intelligent and satirical, but compassionate, too; a pretty rare find. This collection is full of stories that both entertain and sting. It's my favorite of Saunders' works so far. Pastoralia contains five short stories and a novella. The novella, "Pastoralia," is the first story in the collection, a bit different than what you might expect. If you liked CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, Saunders' first short story collection, you'll probably like the novella the best. Like many of those stories, it is set in a futuristic amusement park beset by hard times. In this story the main character has a difficult decision to make: please his boss by ratting out his not-very-dedicated coworker (who persists in speaking English and smoking inside their supposedly pre-historic cave), or stick by her side by continuing to fill out not-very-honest behavioral reports day by day. The best story in the collection is "Sea Oak," which features two uneducated, potty-mouthed sisters, their brother who earns his living at boy-hottie club "Joysticks," and their put-upon Aunt Bernie. Aunt Bernie remains hardworking and optimistic to the end, which unfortunately for her comes quite early in the story. Then she comes back from the dead, with a vengeance, and also no longer quite in one piece. This story is weird, and sad, and hilarious. Another great story is "The Barber's Unhappiness," a tale of a depressed barber, who lives with his guilt-tripping mom and fantasizes constantly about sexy women and imaginary happy endings. Highlights include his stint in driving school and a hilarious bit with an annoyingly non-confrontational driving instructor ("I'm talking what happens if you walk away from here a man or woman not changed in her thought patterns by the material I'm about to present you in terms of the visuals and graphics?"). In the end, not really much of anything happens, but it manages to do so in an incredibly funny and interesting way. I think what's really valuable about this story is the way it portrays the kind-of pathetic barber with humorous yet compassionate honesty. I would especially recommend Pastoralia to anyone who likes the wittily remote style of David Foster Wallace, the futuristic short stories of Adam Johnson or Cory Doctorow, or the dry humor of Kurt Vonnegut. In summary, Pastoralia is freaking awesome.

The first story in this book, the title story, grabbed me immediately. I laughed aloud, delighted at the inventiveness of Saunders' depiction of the corporate culture, as seen through the eyes of a poor working stiff in the pre-historic-land exhibit of a theme park. And really, be it a cubicle or a cave, corporate jargon or grunts and gestures, the author reinforces a universal truth: we are a flawed species, and when pressed, we default to some very strange, very typical behavior. His characters are both bizarre and entirely recognizable: so many hapless, imperfect souls stuck in an even more imperfect world, trying to find happiness in spite of themselves--even, in one case, in spite of being dead. As Pogo was known to say, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." Saunders' sense of humor elevates our mundane dance with discontent to a charming, hilarious, sad, familiar but refreshing jig.Susan O'NeillAuthor: Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Viet Nam(Ballantine Books, 2001)

I finished this book last night and have to say this is one the best books I've read this year. The stories are all about lower-middle-class people with real problems, so real in fact that much of the book is very, very sad, but also very beautiful. Because ultimately what the author is trying to say about these people and these situations is Hey, wake up, look around you, see what's happening, and realize that the world around us has to change. The stories are funny, and true, and many of them are not only excellent stories beautifully written, but are obviously metaphorical and applicable to our real lives, no matter how absurd they may seem on the surface.I would highly recommend this book. If it gives you any indication, Saunders is on equal footing with other current gifted writers such as David Foster Wallace, Thom Jones, and T.C. Boyle.

I found this collection almost physically disabling it was so good. I finshed "Sea Oak" and walked around bumping into doorways and shaking my head and laughing and muttering out loud. I don't think stories get any better than "Sea Oak." That story will stand the test of time and should be anthologized widely, although it will take a brave editor to include it. Saunders insists on making his characters think and question. This collection is ruled, always, by a heartfelt cry for decency in a world that seems to have misplaced that trait somewhere. The stories shape themselves around decency. You finish them and you are a better person, and that is as good a definition of high art as any I know. Not only that, Saunders is the most original writer to come along since Cormac McCarthy; it's a voice that can be instantly marked and identified. These stories are filled with a horrific beauty.

Every so often I read a book that shakes me to the bottom of whatever's in me. This is such a book. The title story still has me quaking; I saw the human race in every sentence and had to laugh and mourn. Sea Oak has lines that are howlers, but it's also terrible and touching. Here is a voice as original and truthful as Flannery O' Connor and Franz Kafka. George Saunders portrays our disgrace with great compassion and comic sensibility. This is enlightened writing. Thank you, Mr Saunders.