Saunders's collection of short stories is standard fare for those accustomed to his satirical work. He invites readers into worlds that lie behind the curtain of our own; ghosts seek to right one last wrong before moving on, characters from commercials grocery shop between shoots, and everything is a commodity.
My favorite idea came from 'Christmas'. The narrator discovers a lesson familiar to me as a former economics major- capital moves faster than labor- as he watches a construction worker lose his Christmas bonus in a game of chance.
The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil
This satirical novella describes the rise of a power-mad dictator in a rich country.
I am tempted to suggest this book is 'appropriate for our times' or make some other grandiose statement about this publication. There are obvious parallels given the novella's focus on border relations and its long look at how the rich treat their poor neighbors.
But politics is often a reflection of how individual behaviors aggregate. Voting results, though sometimes jarring, only reflect feelings voters have held for some time. The size of the 'nations' in this novella and the informal way the characters communicate suggest that the truest lessons of this work lie not in the geopolitical extensions but rather in its closer examination of the small daily interactions that, over many years, form a society's character.
Congratulations, By the Way: Some Thoughts on Kindness
The final read of my George Saunders project is a sixty-four page reprint of his graduation address at Syracuse University. It cannot be overstated how short this is. My process of writing out notes and preparing this blog post likely took more time than reading the book did.
A reader who contends that Congratulations... is not a book has an excellent point. It almost fits into my wallet. I am going to call this a book, though, because I can cite one of its pearls of wisdom to justify it- 'err in the direction of kindness'. The kind thing to do here is to call it a book- it does have two hard covers and some stuff in between, after all.
That advice summarizes the address nicely. In sharing his wisdom with the graduating class, Saunders touches on everything he has learned about kindness. He talks about how people remember those kindest to them and urges the graduates to seek out the most generous, loving, or unafraid versions of themselves.
My favorite part is when Saunders describes failures of kindness as his biggest regret. He regretted responding sensibly or mildly to those in need. I related to that idea.
Of course, the speech was not addressed to me. Could college graduates, lacking certain life experiences, relate in the same way? I think Saunders addresses the question by pointing out at the end of his speech that kindness, being variable, is subject to improvement. I thought it was a perfect conclusion to the speech and a fitting way to wrap up my own journey through his completed work.
