Tenth of December: Stories Paperback – January 7, 2014

Even after all the acclaim Tenth of December has gotten, I was a little iffy about jumping into the collection for fear that I was going to get what I've come to think of as the worst stereotypes of New Yorker short stories - stories about rich white people that focus so much on malaise and angst that they forget to have a story or much beyond a setting and some character beats. Instead, what I got was a collection of sharp, funny, satirical stories that brought in science-fiction elements, social commentary, rich characterization, and absolutely wonderful prose - and, if all that's not enough, even managed to be genuinely, richly funny and nicely moving. Saunders takes on all kinds of issues in these stories, and while a lot of them are about class issues, he also takes a look at the American obsession with medication, the absurdity of business speak, helicopter parents, and much more. But he does all of these while always telling engaging, satisfying stories first and foremost, and giving them all not only lots of thematic depth, but also satisfying plot beats as well. There's "Victory Lap," which finds a pair of over-parented children dealing with an intrusion of the real world into their overly-regulated lives. There's the spectacular "Exhortation," where a business manager tries to find the most positive spin for a job that only gradually reveals itself as something less than desirable. "The Semplica Girl Diaries" gives us a window into a middle class life that's constantly striving to do whatever it takes to match up with everyone else, while "My Chivalric Fiasco" finds a Renaissance Fair knight embracing his role at exactly the wrong time. And that doesn't even touch on the painful, darkly comic but ultimately horrifying "Escape from Spiderhead," where you get a window into the next generation of medications that will shape our moods, or the heartfelt title story, as a terminally ill man's attempt to end his life is thwarted in an unexpected way. There's not a bad story to be found in Tenth of December, but more than that, there's not a story that falls into some cliche about what bad short stories have become these days. They're sharply satirical, engagingly funny, richly plotted, and as if that's not enough, the writing is wonderfully and constantly surprising, finding new voices constantly and evolving to fit whatever the story needs it to be. In short, Tenth of December deserves all of its acclaim and then some, and it makes me not only a convert but an enthusiastic one who's going to be reading more Saunders as soon as I possibly can.

George Saunders’ “Tenth of December” is one of the New York Times best books of the year.

This book is powerful, dark and disturbing. If you are looking for a “fun read”, this is not it. At times, I felt distaste for the author’s mind. Initially, I thought what he filled his head with was cold, boring and uninteresting. As I read more, I realized how well written these stories are. The ten stories here reach into the very core of human existence. They are an eye-opener to the problems we face in our relationships to each other and ourselves.

Jealousy, self-justification, loneliness, lack of empathy, hate, meanness, violence and brutality are all here.

I have heard that the author has called his book a “lab experiment”. “Escape From Spiderhead”, story number 4, is certainly a good example. Free will is derailed in this story:

Jeff had a criminal past; in a moment of fury, he killed Mike in a fight and was arrested. His mother pleaded that he be spared prison, so instead of a life behind bars, Jeff became a guinea pig in a laboratory.

The head of the spider is the control room. Its legs are the workrooms for the experiments. Mobi packs are surgically attached to each of the subjects, so that they can be given different drugs. ED289/290 can make a person fall in love and have certain thoughts that the subjects think are their own. Jeff is incredibly attracted to Rachel, falls in love with her and has an intense sexual encounter. Given another drug, he falls out of love and cannot see what he had found was so attractive about Rachel before. He then has the same experience with Heather. He is surprised to find that both these women have had the same sort of relationships with another man, Rogan. Then the Confirmation Committee wants the experimenters to give Heather Darkfloxx and record Jeff’s reaction to her suffering. Life is not worth living with this drug. Heather dies horribly. Jeff is now told to Darkfloxx Rachel, but he won’t say ‘acknowledge”, despite the fact that he now knows all the subjects have had violent criminal pasts. Jeff’s bosses, Verlaine and Abnesti, try to override him using Docilryde, which will allow his bosses to make Jeff push the lethal button. Docilryde is in Jeff’s mobipak, but Jeff has to give them permission to use it. When Verlaine and Abnesti leave to get an override, Jeff gives himself Darkfloxx and dies.

When he dies, his spirit flies above the building with the birds. Jeff is free at last. He is relieved that he won’t have to kill anyone ever again. Jeff thinks about various murderers and wonders if their crimes were their fault. It is really a matter of predestination, he thinks. God charged them with growing up as mess-ups.

These stories can have different interpretations. For example, a couple of members in my book club thought that the fifth story, “Exhortation”, was a light one. When I explained my interpretation, they changed their minds.

In “Exhortation”, the director’s letter instructs the employees to have a good attitude towards their work. Doesn’t this sound like your job boss in a motivation meeting? Employees are told to get the job done quickly, instead of taking extra time thinking negatively about doing it. The bosses in headquarters are watching your numbers. They say the work is hard but important. Everyone has assignments to do.
Room 6 has especially hard tasks. Moping will take up precious me. If your numbers go down, someone else will take your place. You will be put on a “shelf” to be “cleaned”. Do not worry about whether what we are doing is right or wrong, good or bad. “Isn’t it fun when you don’t hold back, but just pound down and down, letting gravity help you?”

We then learn that Andy had a record-breaking October. Everyone is praising him. However, his numbers are slacking off now. He has been crying and regretting what he has done. It did not take me long to realize that the employees were killing people in Room 6. To be put on the “shelf” to be “cleaned” meant to be killed.

Some of the stories have some ambiguity. I did not see anything “positive” in any of them, but some people do. I think some people miss the point. However, there are many levels to these stories, and I may not have understood everything, as well. The stories are hardly superficial. They are worth another read.

George Saunders is like no other author I've read, and I read a lot. His style is odd, but it's not because he's odd but because he peers inside of his characters' minds and finds the weird truth of what it's like to the other, those people who are battling through every scene of life with limited skills but a fierce commitment to getting to the end of the story. You'll see. The best stories in the collection are the title piece, a chilling tale of selflessness and courage in the face of crippling limitations, and the first two, Victory Lap and Escape from Spiderhead. Riveting, soul crushing and finally surpassing, each in its own very different way. Absolutely incredible stuff. Read it now.

The writer completely disarms me with the inner monologue of a child, and then clobbers me over the head with a surprise I could have never seen coming. How does he do it? He's enjoyable to read, evokes emotions (not always pleasant) and makes me want to talk about what I think about what I read. I am eager to read his upcoming novel.