That seems to be the definition of 'novel' for me: a story that hasn't yet discovered a way to be brief. George Saunders definitiondiscoverstory Change image and share on social
I wasted a lot of years working on my writing and very grandly saying, 'And now... My Novel!,' which would soon be reduced to a short story, then to a paragraph. George Saunders grandlylotparagraph Change image and share on social
The artist's job, I think, is to be a conduit for mystery. To intuit it, and recognize that the story-germ has some inherent mystery in it, and sort of midwife that mystery into the story in such a way that it isn't damaged in the process, and may even get heightened or refined. George Saunders artistconduitdamage share on social
I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And he's made of sugar. George Saunders birthdaybleaknesscharacter Change image and share on social
The universal human laws - need, love for the beloved, fear, hunger, periodic exaltation, the kindness that rises up naturally in the absence of hunger/fear/pain - are constant, predictable, reliable, universal, and are merely ornamented with the details of local culture. George Saunders absencebelovedconstant share on social
When something really bad is going on in a culture, the average guy doesn't see it. He can't. He's average and is surrounded by and immersed in the cant and discourse of the status quo. George Saunders averagebadculture Change image and share on social
It's funny with fiction - once you cut something, it hasn't happened anymore. George Saunders anymorecutfiction Change image and share on social
If death is in the room, it's pretty interesting. But I would also say that I'm interested in getting myself to believe that it's going to happen to me. I'm interested in it, because if you're not, you're nuts. It's really de facto what we're here to find out about. George Saunders deathfactofind share on social
If you think of a work of fiction as a kind of scale model of the world, then the positive valences - where things turn out better than you thought they would - ought to be in there somewhere, too. George Saunders fictionkindmodel Change image and share on social
Reading is a form of prayer, a guided meditation that briefly makes us believe we're someone else, disrupting the delusion that we're permanent and at the center of the universe. Suddenly (we're saved!) other people are real again, and we're fond of them. George Saunders brieflycenterdelusion share on social
