A review by p_t_b
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders

i like george saunders a lot, maybe more as a vibes merchant than an actual writer who you read and think about, so this seemed right down my lane. i tried but i couldn't get into this. i can see it working better as a kind of small group experience where voices other than his get in the mix and you really start to collaboratively dismantle and reassemble stories but mostly this is just the book-length equivalent of having someone tell you why they really love something a ton and you realizing early on in the process that you would rather just encounter the something on your own and then talk about it with them than get hosed down with secondhand joy. further evidence for my theory that you should only do things, and never talk about doing things, and generally just never talk