Tenth of December

You could almost hear the turbines revving at Random House earlier this year as the publishing behemoth kicked off its marketing campaign for the release of George Saunders’ newest story collection, Tenth of December. Clearly, the commercial juggernaut determined to make Mr. Saunders a household name.

“George Saunders Has Written the Best Book You’ll Read This Year.”Imagine having to live up to that embarrassingly presumptuous headline. But that was what aNew York Times Magazineprofile, timed...