Tenth of December

Tenth of December is George Saunders' most honest, approachable, and poignant collection of short stories to date. Saunders is a master of the short story, and one of the most significant and brilliantly creative authors of his time.

In the suspenseful opening scene of "Victory Lap," a youngster observes the attempted kidnapping of the girl next door and must make the terrifying decision to act on his instincts or to disregard years of oppressive guidance from his parents. In "Home," a soldier who has been injured in war goes back home with his mother and finds it difficult to reconcile the worlds he left behind and the one he has returned to. And in the story's title, a beautiful meditation on imagination, memory, and loss, a middle-aged cancer patient goes into the woods to end his life. However, throughout the course of a fateful morning, a disturbed little boy meets the dying man and offers him one last opportunity to remember who he truly is. Tenth of December is filled with unforgettable characters, including a man tormented by a series of pharmaceutical experiments that force him to lust, love, and kill; two mothers trying to raise their daughters; a teenage girl whose idealism is challenged by a brutal brush with reality; and a hapless, deluded owner of an antique store. Saunders' signature blend of exuberant prose, deep humanity, and stylistic innovation is lovingly and vividly infused throughout the book.

Saunders deftly and truly captures the essence of the modern experience in his writings on labour, sex, love, grief, class, despair, and war. These tales delve into the issues of what makes us good and what makes us human, taking on the major concerns and exposing the flaws in our own morality.

Tenth of December is a collection of unsettling, perceptive, and humorous tales that, by their manic energy, concentration on human decency, and generosity of spirit, not only amuse and thrill, but also live up to Chekhov's belief that art should "prepare us for tenderness."