Customer Reviews

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Another winner from one of contemporary literature's funniest and most original writers. If you're a fan of Saunders's previous story collections -- "Pastoralia" and "Civilwarland in Bad Decline" -- you'll read this in one sitting, and then immediately start all over again. (At least that's what I did.) If you're unfamiliar with Saunders and enjoy surreal, topical fiction, this is one you should definitely check out. The critics' default comparison to "Animal Farm" is not entirely inaccurate as Saunders does seem to favor the absurd allegory over traditional realism, but don't assume that he's a second-rate Orwell imitator. For one thing, his stories are infused with more pathos and heart than Orwell's, and more hope than Vonnegut's (another frequent comparison). In short, if the top writers working in America today were to play a game of king of the mountain, Saunders would have a good shot at pushing others off the peak. But if the handling of his subject matter is any indication of how Saunders regards his fellow man, instead of pushing he'd extend his hand and help pull others to the top, all the while making sure everyone had enough room and a steady foothold. Buy and enjoy.

First, I'll say that George Saunders' two short story collections are two of my favorite books. I've reread them more times than I can count. I also go to the trouble of tracking down his new short stories as they appear in various periodicals. I'm a pretty enthusiastic admirer. So I went straight down to the bookstore and bought it on the day it was released. And then I returned it the next day. I couldn't finish it (and it's only about a hundred smallish pages.) It read like a pretty cliched book for children written in an imitation of Saunders' voice. For those who are familiar with Saunders' work, I would say: Read the first ten pages or so in the store to get an idea of what this is. To those unfamiliar with this author, I would say: Pick up either "Civilwarland in Bad Decline" or "Pastoralia"; this book is definitely not representative of this man's talent.

like its setting, "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil" is small. this shouldn't be too much of a surprise considering that saunders's two other major works have been short story collections, but one wonders why this story wasn't included in a collection rather than being sold as a stand-alone piece. in this reviewer's humble opinion, it does not merit the $10 price, even for the lovely illustrations. as for content, the story is a kind of surrealist satire involving a man with a brain problem (in that half the time he doesn't have one) gaining control of an entire landscape, and the chaos that he initiates. there are some piercing observations here, a hilarious take on modern media, and extremely inventive ideas for characters made of a combination of organic and mechanical materials. there are some funny moments (toward the end, phil begins to experience a kind of linguistic spasm in which his speech becomes jumbled, perhaps the one moment that evokes our current president most strongly), and the ending is poignant without being overdone. saunders is an extremely deft writer but the story was not fleshed out or given enough attention to warrant being its own book. I would recommend reading something else of his first.

An extraordinarily powerful small book that satirizes the nativist protectionism now rampant in many parts of the world in such an amusing manner that even nativists could read it. I was so taken with the opening paragraph that I read it aloud to my wife and 10 year old son. The result: for the next 4 nights we gathered and I read the complete book aloud. A gem.

In George Saunders's latest work, a plain-speaking dimwit (Phil) takes control of a prosperous nation, Outer Horner, by dubious means. Phil has a long-standing personal grudge against a nation called Inner Horner, which is poor and completely defenseless. After deliberately misleading the people of Outer Horner about the threat posed by Inner Horner, Phil launches an unprovoked military assault on the citizens of Inner Horner. The ones that aren't killed are enclosed in a barbed-wire prison, stripped of clothing and deprived of sleep. The hapless media organizations of Outer Horner are only able to repeat mindless slogans in support of their leader, who condemns anyone who opposes him as unpatriotic.

Fans of Saunders's previous work will enjoy the oddball style and content of this "novella," which is actually more like a lengthy short story. His writing style really is unusual and creative, and here he makes up in part for the lack of text with some nifty hand drawings. Not a bad way to spend an hour.

I'm a big George Saunders fan, but this one doesn't have the magic. The idea is stretched very thin, and the writing is straight-forward, lacking the sparkle his other books clearly have. However, I can say that it's timely, and reflects the dull fear-mongering of the post-9/11 era in the U.S.A. quite precisely.

This isn't the kind of book you'd expect from an esteemed college professor and New Yorker writer. In fact, it kind of rejects the conventions of what fiction is supposed to be. It's literary, but with important graphical elements. It's funny, but the subject matter is life-and-death, future-of-existence serious. It's an allegory (I've been told), but it could be about any number of real-life events, and doesn't easily fit any of them. It's a book we're supposed to take seriously, but it's barely 100 pages long. Oh, and Saunders' eerily precise writing makes the characters live and breathe, but they aren't... human. Frankly, Saunders has taken a lot of risks here. And I'm happy to report that they all pay off. This is a reading experience unlike any other I've ever encountered, and I have a feeling it's going to stay with me for a long time. This is the kind of book that changes the way you think about and look at the world, even if it is about... belt buckles.

If this is the 21st Century's Animal Farm, then Spongebob Squarepants is the 21st Century's 1984. It has several funny moments, but...at what price? Well, at $13, according to the publisher.

I love Saunders's short stories, and "Phil" would not be out of place in a forthcoming collection of his work. But as a standalone edition, it's overpriced; I could see paying the premium for a limited, collectible small press edition. But while this is a book, it is no more a novel than Nicholson Baker's Checkpoint: A Novel. (Baker's book is a bigger offender, in the sense that it actually has the gall to call itself "A Novel"...whereas Saunders's publishers tiptoe around and call this "a fable.")

Other readers recommend you sample this in the bookshop before buying it. I would warn that if you start sampling it, you will probably end up having read the whole thing before your feet begin to tire or the clerks start asking you to buy something. This is only partly a testament to Saunders's prose. For as a product, priced similarly to other fatter trade paperbacks, this is either a skimpy novella or a heavily padded short story.

Glancing at Saunders's essay about the origin of the piece, I see that it started in response to a challenge by Lane Smith. Now I really feel cheated! A collectible small press edition with color illustrations by Lane Smith would be worth a lot more than $13. And Saunders could still have included it in his next collection of short stories.

Full disclosure: I borrowed my copy from the library.

George Saunders has given us many great short stories over the years. He has even given us wonderful novellas. Still, I wondered why the publishers would choose to release this extremely short novel on its own without more stories to surround it. After reading it I understand that this is a book that needed to stand on its own.
The back cover states, "an Animal Farm for our times." I could not agree more. It is clear that Saunders wrote this book to make a clear political and social point that he hopes will endure for years to come. I even think he was careful to use a stripped down language so that this book could be taught in the classroom, and I believe it should be taught.
You will find haunting similarities to the language used in our modern political landscape throughout the book. Still, this is a book that anyone can pick up and expect to gain something from, and it reads quick in about two hours, but it will not leave you so quickly.
This fits well with other Saunders' books, along with other great satirists like David Foster Wallace, Mark Leyner, and Paul Hina.

This thin novella is wacky and wise. The tale, originally conceived as a story where all the main characters were shapes, is both fantastical and troublingly realistic. Saunders has a rare talent of infusing a story that is so simply hilarious you could read it to your kid with a deep political and social truth.

On the surface the story told is one of the inner and outer Hornerites, two nations of strangely conglomerate masses which find themselves at war for no particular reason. Phil begins his reign by inciting this strife, and the power of creating an insider/outsider mentality catapults him to the leadership of the outer Hornerites. Might makes right, so he enforces his rule with the help of two attention-starved and gigantic brothers.

The characters might be strange shapes, but they are vividly recognizable: the bold and pontificating Phil, the senile and ineffectual former president of Outer Horner, the newscasters repetitively shouting banal notifications while the entire population of Inner Horner is about to be eradicated. It's an extremely funny story, and yet if you've lived in this world, it's also extraordinarily heartbreaking.

Thankfully, Phil doesn't stay in power for long. But both in the story and outside of it, it seems safe to assume that history will only repeat itself; it's only a matter of time before rivalries and exclusions develop, and another leader arrives on the scene to exploit these divisions.

Written in very simple language, Phil is a fast and easy read. It is less "adult" than the more cerebral Pastoralia and CivilWarLand. But the humor is just as intelligent and the style just as sure. With a unique blend of child-like innocence and adult cynicism, Phil has its own special appeal.