Synopsis
Satirical short stories, many set either in the future or in a theme park.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-02-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 179 pages | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 5.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.2 in | | Weight: | 5.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
"Mr. Saunders writes like the illegitimate offspring of Nathaniel West and Kurt Vonnegut, perhaps a distant relative of Mark Leyner and Steven Wright. . . . Mr. Saunders' satiric vision of America is dark, and demented; it is also ferocious and very funny".--"The New York Times".
Industry Reviews
"His people may be grotesque, but the heartaches they suffer feel as believable as yours."
Newsweek - David Gates (01/22/1996)
"...the debut of an exciting new voice in fiction...Mr. Saunders...writes like the illegitimate offspring of [Nathanael] West and Kurt Vonnegut, perhaps a distant relative of Mark Leyner and Steven Wright. He's a savage satirist with a sentimental streak, who delineates, in these pages, the dark underbelly of the American dream: the losses, delusions, and terrors suffered by the lonely, the disenfranchised, the downtrodden, and the plain unlucky...Mr. Saunders' satiric vision of America is dark and demented; it's also ferocious and very funny."
New York Times - Michiko Kakutani (02/02/1996)
"Mr. Saunders...is demonstrably a cool satirist and a wicked stylist. 'CivilWarLand in Bad Decline' is just about the quirkiest and most accomplished short-story debut since Barry Hannah's 'Airships'...just when you plan to rebel against all the wacky tics, his stories take surprising and sometimes stunning turns. Quite unexpectedly, between guffaws, you find yourself moved. Mr. Saunders is one of those rare writers who can effortlessly blend satire and sentiment."
New York Times Book Review - Jay McInerney (02/04/1996)
"A debut collection so friendly and casual in style...that it takes a while before you realize what a frightening world Saunders has created....The politics of scarcity are brilliantly fictionalized in these smart and understated stories..."
Kirkus Reviews (02/16/1996)
"...a bizarre odyssey into the dark reaches of the author's febrile imagination, a world turned upside down and populated by weirdos and inadequates trying to get back on their feet....As with Gary Larson's drawings, George Saunders's humour is laced with a wonderfully offbeat brand of satire that is superb when it hits the target..."
Literary Review
"[A] shocking, hilarious satire."
San Francisco Review of Books - Alex Frankel
"An astoundingly tuned voice--graceful, dark, authentic, and funny."
Advertisement - Thomas Pynchon
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