George Saunders: Critical Essays (American Literature Readings in the 21st Century)

This timely volume explores the signal contribution George Saunders has made to the development of the short story form in books ranging from __CivilWarLand in Bad Decline__ (1996) to __Tenth of December__ (2013). The book brings together a team of scholars from around the world to explore topics ranging from Saunders’s treatment of work and religion to biopolitics and the limits of the short story form. It also includes an interview with Saunders specially conducted for the volume, and a preliminary bibliography of his published works and critical responses to an expanding and always exciting creative œuvre. Coinciding with the release of the Saunders’ first novel, __Lincoln in the Bardo__ (2017__), George Saunders: Critical Essays__ is the first book-length consideration of a major contemporary author’s work. It is essential reading for anyone interested in twenty-first century fiction. "A Job to Do": George Saunders on, and at, work / Kasia Boddy Horning in: language, subordination and freedom in the short fiction of George Saunders / Clare Hayes-Brady Language between lyricism ad corporatism: George Saunders's new sincerity / Adam Kelly "Hope that, in Future, All is well": American exceptionalism and hopes for resistance in two stories by George Saunders / Gillian Elizabeth Moore Hanging by a thread in the homeland: the Four Institutional Monologues of George Saunders / Richard E. Lee Biopolitical dystopias, bureaucratic carnivores, synthetic primitives: "Pastoralia" as human zoo / David Huebert Ghosts and theme parks: the supernatural and the artificial in George Saunders's short stories / Dana Del George The absent presence of the Deus Absconditus in the work of George Saunders / Aidan Cottrell-Boyce Narrative empathy in George Saunders's short fiction / Michael Basseler Cruel inventions: George Saunders's literary Darkenfloxx / Jurrit Daalder Dreaming and realizing "The Semplica Girl Diaries" : a post-Jungian reading / Steve Gronert Ellerhoff Everyday zombies: ethics and the contemporary in "Sea Oak" and "Brad Carrigan, American" / Michael Trussler "Third-person Ventriloquism": microdialogues and polyphony in George Saunders's "Victory Lap" / Robert Cameron Wilson "A Little at a Time. And Iteratively": a conversation with George Saunders / Steve Gronert Ellerhoff George Saunders: a prelimanary bibliography / Emily Bourke, Philip Coleman, and Steve Gronert Ellerhoff. Front Matter....Pages i-xv “A Job to Do”*: George Saunders on, and at, Work....Pages 1-22 Horning In: Language, Subordination and Freedom in the Short Fiction of George Saunders....Pages 23-39 Language Between Lyricism and Corporatism: George Saunders’s New Sincerity....Pages 41-58 “Hope that, in Future, All Is well”: American Exceptionalism and Hopes for Resistance in Two Stories by George Saunders....Pages 59-75 Hanging by a Thread in the Homeland: The Four Institutional Monologues of George Saunders....Pages 77-104 Biopolitical Dystopias, Bureaucratic Carnivores, Synthetic Primitives: “Pastoralia” as Human Zoo....Pages 105-120 Ghosts and Theme Parks: The Supernatural and the Artificial in George Saunders’s Short Stories....Pages 121-135 The Absent Presence of the Deus Absconditus in the Work of George Saunders....Pages 137-151 Narrative Empathy in George Saunders’s Short Fiction....Pages 153-171 Cruel Inventions: George Saunders’s Literary DarkenfloxxTM....Pages 173-188 Dreaming and Realizing “The Semplica Girl Diaries”: A Post-Jungian Reading....Pages 189-204 Everyday Zombies: Ethics and the Contemporary in “Sea Oak” and “Brad Carrigan, American”....Pages 205-219 “Third-person Ventriloquism”: Microdialogues and Polyphony in George Saunders’s “Victory Lap”....Pages 221-235 “A Little at a Time. And Iteratively”: A Conversation with George Saunders....Pages 237-243 Back Matter....Pages 245-292 This timely volume explores the signal contribution (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8885.George_Saunders) George Saunders has made to the development of the short story form in books ranging from CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996) to Tenth of December (2013). The book brings together a team of scholars from around the world to explore topics ranging from Saunders's treatment of work and religion to biopolitics and the limits of the short story form. It also includes an interview with Saunders specially conducted for the volume, and a preliminary bibliography of his published works and critical responses to an expanding and always exciting creative oeuvre. Coinciding with the release of Saunders's first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo (2017), George Saunders: Critical Essays is the first book-length consideration of this major contemporary author's work. It is essential reading for anyone interested in twenty-first century fiction. "This timely volume explores the signal contribution George Saunders has made to the development of the short story form in books ranging from CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996) to Tenth of December (2013). The book brings together a team of scholars from around the world to explore topics ranging from Saunders's treatment of work and religion to biopolitics and the limits of the short story form. It also includes an interview with Saunders specially conducted for the volume, and a preliminary bibliography of his published works and critical responses to an expanding and always exciting creative oeuvre."--Page 4 of cover.