READING IS FUCKINMENTAL: George of the Literary Jungle

GEORGE OF THE LITERARY JUNGLE

Wrap your lips around these stories, baby.

Remember the first time you saw that Tarantino flick From Dusk till Dawn? Maybe you had a vague notion where the movie was headed. But about a third of the way through it (and if you’ve seen it, you know exactly at what point I’m talking about) the plot takes a left turn, careens off the road, and rattles through the mesquite and sagebrush at 80 miles an hour. That’s also the feeling you get when reading George Saunders’ short fiction. Saunders’ plots and characters sort of amble along at first, with fate throwing her customary curve balls, and people fucking things up as they generally do. And of course all of this happens in some slightly off-kilter setting, such as an amusement park or a museum devoted to an arcane subject. But at some point, Saunders will yank the wheel and you’ll find yourself careening through some strange territory.  

Probably the best Saunders short story collection is Pastoralia. The tales are reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut’s work, and Saunders admits that KV is a major influence. Still, Saunders has a voice and post-modern spin all his own. And like KV’s work, Saunders’ stories are shot through with plenty of deadpan humor.

Saunders’ stories are best consumed in small portions. The plots and settings are so similar that they lose their flavor if you get greedy and gorge yourself on too many at once. And they’re not very filling—there are no deep connections with characters (really, you don’t give a shit what happens to them). But you can only take so much “serious” fiction before you feel like guzzling a pint of Clorox and then wrapping your lips around a Glock. So after a tough day at the office (berating your co-workers, cheating the public, stealing paperclips, ogling the new interns, inhaling a dozen Buffalo wings at Chili’s during lunch—whatever futile and desperate act fills that void once occupied by “ambition”) there’s nothing like a Saunders story to set your mind at ease. At least your life isn’t quite the train wreck it could be—just ask any character in a Saunders story about that.   

Jason Matthew Smith is a Texan who never developed an accent, thanks to a steady diet of television reruns during his formative years. He now lives in Utah, where everyone thinks he sounds just like John Astin, the original Gomez Addams.