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/lit/ - Literature

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19529489 No.19529489 [Reply] [Original]

His work somehow makes him seem very impressed by himself. Most of his stories are written to tickle the fancies and white guilt of the New Yorker/NPR literary audience. He’s just got that general “nice guy who’s actually a dickhead” vibe. But his writing really stinks.

Who are some good contemporary alternatives?

>> No.19529526

George Saunders without the dipshit filter in place

>> No.19529538

>>19529489
>white guilt

I've read almost everything he's done and I can't think of a single instance where any of his stories are about race. I can only think of the slave characters in Bardo, but they're only in the book for like a page

>> No.19529610

>>19529538
White guilt doesn’t have to be guilt about race. The Simplica Girl Diaries is one of the shittiest, on-the-nose stories I’ve ever read about capitalism, human rights, etc. “Har har har. These third world chicks are going to be lawn ornaments. It’s so cruel!”

>> No.19529624

>>19529610
maybe you should get off the internet because it seems that you are sufficiently unhinged at this moment. also your anger at being reminded of any wrongdoings by any european ever shows that YOU are the one who is guilty.

>> No.19529634

>>19529624
Anglos have committed more crimes against humanity than anyone on earth. I am thoroughly ashamed of being a white man. I just don’t think cutesy allegories written by a total hack read only by rich white people are the way to communicate the travesties.

>> No.19529660

>>19529634
that sucks, my people havent done anything bad but be fucking cool as shit and admired by the rest of the world so i never feel guilty for history. that must be painful to feel guilty for all the crimes you committed. you and your papa and your sweet granpappy etc etc

>> No.19529670

>>19529660
My grandfather was Haitian, rest his soul. Made incredible art.

>> No.19529806

He’s aight.

The story about the male stripper made me laugh.

>> No.19529834

>>19529806
Oh yeah. I imagined Tao Lin in that part hahah.

>> No.19529853

>>19529834
kys, you fat cow.

>> No.19529864
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19529864

>>19529853
I’m not fat. Stay on topic.

>> No.19529874

I don't see it. You sound a little unhinged

>> No.19529935

>>19529874
You’re a fag. Typical Saunders fan.

>> No.19529964

>>19529634
>travesties
A travesty is a mockery of justice. It's not necesarrily a tragic situation.

>> No.19530007

>>19529874
How do they sound unhinged. You’re weird bro

>> No.19530229

>>19529610
>>19529489

I don't really know why you made this thread. I don't think you actually want recommendations. On some level I think you probably are genuinely interested and open to Saunders and are hoping to stimulate discussion by being needlessly contentious and incendiary to get attention - but it's really a non starter when you keep doing it. Next time literally just post his picture and with Thoughts? and we'll have a more productive thread.

>> No.19530237

>>19529489
I like Kelly Link a lot. Somewhat a similar vein. Her stories remind me of Saunders’ more oddball work.

>> No.19530241

>>19530229
More moralizing. Truly a Saunders fan.

>> No.19530274

>>19529489
Meh. Certainly Lincoln in the Bardo was filled with (and made significantly worse) by white guilt and adjacent feelings (the ending with Abraham Lincoln literally being possessed by the souls of black folk is laughable and entirely unearned). His public appearances and essays since 2015 or so have also become increasingly establishment-leftist.

But his earlier stories were much better, and generally just suggested that everyone - even (and especially) the low-class 'deplorables' - was as deserving of sympathy as anyone else, and that people on an individual level all just want to try to help eachother even if they are in a system that encourages them not to.

I wouldn't particularly want to have dinner or a drink with Saunders today, but I would have loved to have shared a meal with the Saunders of 15 or 20 years ago.

>> No.19530276

>>19529935
Not a fan of Saunders only read his first short story collection

>> No.19530338

>>19530274
OP here. Your reply is very fair and I particularly agree with your last point. Maybe that’s why he rubs me the wrong way so badly. His work just seems so obvious now.

I made the mistake of listening to him on Cheryl Strayed’s podcast a few months into the pandemic. Heartwarming platitudes after platitude after platitude were all that could come out of his mouth.

All that said the last book about Russian writers has been sitting on my shelf since last Christmas and I expect it’ll be a decent read.

>> No.19530342

>>19530229
Yeah OP. Don’t you dare express an opinion! Post only high-effort posts with a photo and “thoughts”! That’s exactly what /lit/ needs more of.

Fucking asshole.

>> No.19530399

Bump

>> No.19530722

George Saunders is probably the greatest living American writer and will probably win the Nobel within the decade. Try harder, troll.

>> No.19530733

>>19530722
>George Saunders is probably the greatest living American writer
I like him well enough, but he is nothing of the sort, especially when McCarthy, Pynchon, and DiLillo are still alive. And there's no chance that he (or any other American) wins the Nobel in the next decade given that they just gave it to Glück last year.

>> No.19530745

>>19530733
Bunch of fucking dinosaurs. DiLillo has written one major novel, not even a masterpiece, the rest minor at best.

>> No.19530750

>>19530733
You are still completely unhinged.

>> No.19530751

>>19530745
>DiLillo has written one major novel, not even a masterpiece
Still more than the one minor novel that Saunders wrote, which wasn't even good.

>> No.19530758

>>19530750
lol, what is unhinged about that post, anon? Genuinely curious, provided you're not just shit-posting for (you)s (if you are, here you go).

>> No.19530766
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19530766

>> No.19530777

>>19530745
Troll. If you legitimately think this then I feel sorry for you.

But yeah. Too bad DiLillo didn’t also get a bunch of his shitty b-list friends (Nick Offerman, Miranda July, Lena Dunham, Carrie Brownstein) to record a circle-jerk audiobook of his novel as well.

Saunders is twee feel good shit. The person who keeps defending him and calling anyone who disagrees unhinged is a total fag.

>> No.19530785

>>19530777
Digits never lie, especially lucky 777.

>> No.19530788

>>19529634
you're a faggot

>> No.19530811

This is a pretty good thread. I’ve never read the guy but I’m entertained.

>> No.19530819

>>19530777
DeLillo is probably my least favorite of the contemporary American writers, but still he had much more to say than Saunders. I really don't think anyone has topped Mason & Dixon as far as American lit goes

>> No.19530842

>>19530819
I’m rather intimidated by Pynchon but I will read this because of your high praise.

>> No.19530872

>>19530819
Blood meridian and Suttree are both greater works imo.

>> No.19530885

>>19530745
You’re an idiot.

Saunders is a chucklefuck who has been very good at ingratiating himself with the P.C. woke literati. That’s all. He says precisely what he’s supposed to say, includes all the themes in his work you’re supposed to include.

>> No.19530887

>>19530842
Mason & Dixon is very intimidating and I'd suggest you take your time. I'm not usually a slow reader and it took me at least a month or so to finish it. You'll probably know after the first few chapters whether you want to spend time on it or not

>> No.19530921

>>19530885
Nailed it.

>> No.19530930

I read his book on writing recently and thought he had some interesting stuff. The idea of a train of expectation-reversal as the foundation of a story was especially revealing.

>> No.19530939
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19530939

>>19529489
>Who are some good contemporary alternatives?
Fav book published in last 10 years.

>> No.19531038

Can we bump this or is that too unhinged.

>> No.19531059 [DELETED] 

>>19531038
[sage]Bumping a thread on /lit/ because it's on the second page is indeed quite unhinged and cringeworthy. /lit/ is a relatively slow moving board. There's no need to bump something whose last reply was only 15 or 20 minutes ago.[/sage]

>> No.19531072

>>19529489
Lauren Groff.

(Kidding.)

>> No.19531076

>>19531059
Take the stick out of your ass it was a joke, bitch boy.

>> No.19531098

>>19531076
You have a short fuse, which usually points to an inability with humor of any sort.

>> No.19531104

>>19531098
That sentence is ESL as fuck.

>> No.19531120

>>19531104
you're embarrassing yourself

>> No.19531185

>>19531104
Must be you and your trash grammar.

>> No.19531194

>>19531104
Sentences can't be ESL, Dumb ESL.

>> No.19531243

>>19531076
>>19531098
>>19531104
>>19531120
>>19531185
>>19531194

I’m embarrassed for you all.

>> No.19531256

>>19531243
Trying to wriggle out eh?

>> No.19531285

>>19530750
And you're still an utterly effeminate eunuch of the mind and soul.

>> No.19531362

Can we get back on topic, folks. What does /lit/ think of George Saunders?

>> No.19531377

Any adult writer who tries to cash in by writing a stupid kids book is a total hack.
> From the bestselling author of Tenth of December comes a splendid new edition of his acclaimed collaboration with the illustrator behind The Stinky Cheese Man and James and the Giant Peach! Featuring fifty-two haunting and hilarious images, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip is a modern fable for people of all ages that touches on the power of kindness, generosity, compassion, and community.

In the seaside village of Frip live three families: the Romos, the Ronsens, and a little girl named Capable and her father. The economy of Frip is based solely on goat’s milk, and this is a problem because the village is plagued by gappers: bright orange, many-eyed creatures the size of softballs that love to attach themselves to goats. When a gapper gets near a goat, it lets out a high-pitched shriek of joy that puts the goats off giving milk, which means that every few hours the children of Frip have to go outside, brush the gappers off their goats, and toss them into the sea. The gappers have always been everyone’s problem, until one day they get a little smarter, and instead of spreading out, they gang up: on Capable’s goats. Free at last of the tyranny of the gappers, will her neighbors rally to help her? Or will they turn their backs, forcing Capable to bear the misfortune alone?

>> No.19531498

Where should I start with him

>> No.19531518

>>19531498
Civilwarland in Bad Decline (the title story and Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz), Pastoralia (The End of FIRPO in the World, Sea Oak, and The Falls), and Tenth of December (the title story, Escape from Spiderhead, Puppy, and Semplica Girl Diaries)

>> No.19531532

>>19531518
Seconding Sea Oak. It’s laugh out loud funny and I seldom laugh when I’m reading.

>> No.19531904

>>19529610
It's true that aspect of the story was on the nose and annoying but I rather enjoyed the father trying to cope with his day-to-day existence with his daughters.

>> No.19531939

>>19531377
Didn't T.S. Eliot write poems for children? He's not a hack

>> No.19531948

>>19531904
That’s fair. I forgot about the dad being financially stressed and all that. That was a poignant part of the story.

>> No.19533292

Contentious thread. Wouldn’t imagine such an uninspiring writer would illicit such reactions.

>> No.19534344

>>19529489
i've read many of his short stories and i can't remember any white guilt, but it has been many years. maybe you just spend too much time on the internet?

>> No.19534932

>>19534344
OP is an intellectual midget.

>> No.19534940

>>19533292
Welcome to the internet dumbass

>> No.19535028

>>19534940
Welcome to the internet dumbass

>> No.19535067

I think he's okay lol he's probably an okay guy to be around too

>> No.19535232

>>19535067
I knew someone who got an MFA from Syracuse and said he’s a textbook narcissist.

>> No.19535705

>>19535028
Welcome to the dumbass internet

>> No.19535750
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19535750

>>19535232
How many copies of Infinite Jest are on his shelf?