Tenth of December – Crasstalk

Here in 2013, American short-fiction author George Saunders is having a moment. His fourth collection of short stories, Tenth of December, was published in January. Wikipedia describes the book’s critical reception as “mixed to positive” — but the positive end of that range seems remarkably intense: A recent New York Times Magazine interview with the author is titled “George Saunders Has Written the Best Book You’ll Read This Year.” (Bold title for an article published during the first week of January.) And on a winter Sunday after yet another nor’easter had finished slamming New England, Saunders’ Boston-area reading practically filled a local auditorium with his fans. Continue reading →