By Megan Thomas
I’ve been going about reading George Saunders backwards. I started with Liberation Day, his most recent (and also incredible) short story collection. Now, I’m heading into the back catelogue because I thoroughly enjoy his dystopian, near-future, funny, wicked, dark and unpretentious stories.
Pastoralia was Saunders’ second full-length short story collection, published back in 2000 (I was busy being 5, forgive me). Perhaps you would be able to tell his style has yet to develop to its full glory if you read it straight after Liberation Day, but because of the time between reads, I found this more of the same – in the best way. It’s such a treat to have so many more of his stories to look forward to.
The imagination in every story is so prolific and non-repetitive, and yet themes of class and the failures of capitalism stay consistent throughout, from a couple living in a cave as part of an immersive ‘era’ theme park where if they do not act like cave people, they will be fired, to a restaurant where there is a lot more money for bare-minimum-survival to be made if the waiters do whatever the patrons ask of them in between serving their food… Also, a ghost granny.
Have you read any George Saunders? I think I’ll read Lincoln in the Bardo next.
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