A review by nickdleblanc
Pastoralia by George Saunders

4.0

This is closer to a 3.5 star review for me, but I found it harder to give 4 stars than 2 stars, so here we are. Saunders is a heavy stylist and his prose can beat you down. Clearly the man knows how to wield a pen, but at a few points through the book I found myself looking for a break from the continual psychological battering. Granted, this is probably my fault for reading the book straight through like a novel rather than taking my time and reading in pieces as a short story collection is sort of set up for. THE BARBER’S UNHAPPINESS was my favorite story. SEA OAK and THE END OF FIRPO... were my least favorite. THE FALLS is an incredible portrait of an overthinker and I found myself laughing out loud at how Saunders was somehow able to transmit some of my unhealthiest thought patterns into his story. Saunders understands people and psychology. He also knows how to break your heart. I enjoyed CIVILWARLAND more than this collection even though these stories may be more technically well constructed and written. This collection just beat me up emotionally and psychologically. But, maybe that’s a good thing. On second thought...I take back what I said. This was a 4 star book.