Since its publication in 1996, George Saunders’s debut collection has grown in esteem from a cherished cult classic to a masterpiece of the form, inspiring an entire generation of writers along the way. In six stories and a novella, Saunders hatches an unforgettable cast of characters, each struggling to survive in an increasingly haywire world. With a new introduction by Joshua Ferris and a new author’s note by Saunders himself, this edition is essential reading for those seeking to discover or revisit a virtuosic, disturbingly prescient voice.
Praise for George Saunders and
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
“It’s no exaggeration to say that short story master George Saunders helped change the trajectory of American fiction.”
—
The Wall Street Journal
“Saunders’s satiric vision of America is dark and demented; it’s also ferocious and very funny.”
—Michiko Kakutani,
The New York Times
“George Saunders is a writer of arresting brilliance and originality, with a sure sense of his material and apparently inexhaustible resources of voice. [
] is scary, hilarious, and unforgettable.”
—Tobias Wolff
“Saunders makes the all-but-impossible look effortless.”
—Jonathan Franzen
“Not since Twain has America produced a satirist this funny.”
—Zadie Smith
“An astoundingly tuned voice—graceful, dark, authentic, and funny—telling just the kinds of stories we need to get us through these times.”
—Thomas Pynchon