absurd, but it works pt. 2

I have much more George Saunders reading to catch up on, but I'm not sure any of it will hold a candle to my opinion of Tenth of December. With that being said, Pastoralia was a weird time, but maybe not as weird as it could've been giving my expectations of what Saunders is capable of and leans into. His absurdism and ability to make even the most unlikeable of characters a little less pathetic and a little more human really impresses me. Every single one of this collection's stories felt like a penned fever dream. Each of them has a strange uniqueness, from the completely one-of-a-kind, often pathetic characters, to the landscapes I can only describe as liminally familiar (for "Pastorialia") or suburban wasteland chic (for the rest of them). "Sea Oak" has really stuck with me. I think it's my favorite of the collection, perhaps because it mixes grief with sexual exploitation, a surreal zombie aunt, the sour taste of regret, and the reality of being unable to escape financial struggles. Saunders' writing is just so poignant in an often uncomfortable way; I don't think anyone would describe his tales as cozy or feel good. I really have nothing good to say about "The Barber's Unhappiness" and stand by the fact that strongly disliking a narrator who's pretty terrible doesn't mean we have to find a way to redeem them. Anyways. Saunders is good at what he does, and for what these stories are within the genre of weird fiction, they're pretty great.

​

My favorite quote from Pastoralia ("Sea Oak"):

"Maybe it happens all the time. Maybe there's angry dead all over..."

---