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.<\/p>\n
In the taut opener, \u201cVictory Lap,\u201d 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 \u201cHome,\u201d 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. And in the title story, a stunning meditation on imagination, memory, and loss, a middle-aged cancer patient walks into the woods to commit suicide, only to encounter a troubled young boy who, over the course of a fateful morning, gives the dying man a final chance to recall who he really is. A hapless, deluded owner of an antiques store; two mothers struggling to do the right thing; a teenage girl whose idealism is challenged by a brutal brush with reality; a man tormented by a series of pharmaceutical experiments that force him to lust, to love, to kill\u2014the unforgettable characters that populate the pages of Tenth of December are vividly and lovingly infused with Saunders\u2019s signature blend of exuberant prose, deep humanity, and stylistic innovation.<\/p>\n
Writing brilliantly and profoundly about class, sex, love, loss, work, despair, and war, Saunders cuts to the core of the contemporary experience. These stories take on the big questions and explore the fault lines of our own morality, delving into the questions of what makes us good and what makes us human.<\/p>\n
Unsettling, insightful, and hilarious, the stories in Tenth of December\u2014through their manic energy, their focus on what is redeemable in human beings, and their generosity of spirit\u2014not only entertain and delight; they fulfill Chekhov\u2019s dictum that art should \u201cprepare us for tenderness.\u201d<\/p>\n
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
\nMacArthur \u201cGenius Grant\u201d fellow George Saunders is the acclaimed author of several collections of short stories, including Pastoralia and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, as well as a collection of essays and a book for children. His most recent story collection, Tenth of December was a widely praised New York Times Bestseller. In 2013, Saunders won the PEN\/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story and was also named one of Time magazine\u2019s 100 most influential people in the world.<\/p>\n