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Pastoralia

George Saunders

4.11 · Rating details · 16,378 ratings · 1,332 reviews

With this new collection, George Saunders takes us even further into the shocking, uproarious and oddly familiar landscape of his imagination.

The stories in Pastoralia are set in a slightly skewed version of America, where elements of contemporary life have been merged, twisted, and amplified, casting their absurdity-and our humanity-in a startling new light. Whether he wr ...more

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Paperback, 188 pages

Published September 8th 2001 by Bloomsbury Publishing (first published 2000)

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Jun 18, 2008 Rob rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to Rob by: Amy by way of Sarah

Shelves: ambulothanatophobia, bedside, 2008, collection, own, 2010, recommended

Imagine for a moment that you go into the up-scale liquor store around the block that is celebrated city-wide for its fabulous wine selection. You're a bit of a novice when it comes to wine and are a little embarrassed to be here because your wallet is that ballistic nylon stuff and not something truly exotic like alligator skin and with that in mind you decide not to ask the sommelier for any help. You browse around the store looking for a bottle of something called David Foster Wallace that wa Imagine for a moment that you go into the up-scale liquor store around the block that is celebrated city-wide for its fabulous wine selection. You're a bit of a novice when it comes to wine and are a little embarrassed to be here because your wallet is that ballistic nylon stuff and not something truly exotic like alligator skin and with that in mind you decide not to ask the sommelier for any help. You browse around the store looking for a bottle of something called David Foster Wallace that was recommended to you by your friend with the alligator skin wallet. You manage to find the bottle of DFW and admire the fancy bottle with its fancy label and its curlicues and footnotes and excellent leading. The bottle seems really heavy and big and everyone has told you how excellent it is. So you decide to try it but when you actually get to the counter you discover that you've picked up a bottle of something called George Saunders by mistake. The George Saunders bottle isn't as big or as fancy as the DFW and in fact it looks a little bit like a down-market or off-label knock-off of the vintage DFW but at the same time you believe that there is maybe something authentic and distinct about it anyway. The sommelier gives you a funny look as he rings you up but you don't say anything because you don't want to look stupid in front of him and anyway you're probably just being self-conscious about the whole thing like the time you had a glass of Pynchon at your friend's house and you said that it was a good Vonnegut and everyone laughed and your friend explained that the Vonnegut has a much sharper finish and you'll notice how the Pynchon seems to hang around in your mouth so much longer but he could see how you might make that mistake. And you try to think about that night on your drive home because it's that same friend with the alligator skin wallet that is coming over for dinner tonight with his wife and you remember how he plays golf with your boss and this is an important event to get right. So that night before the main course you pour everyone's glass in the kitchen so that no one will see the bottle and the secret will be safe with you. And your wife brings out the entree and you bring out the wine and everyone digs in and finds it delicious. Your friend with the alligator skin wallet remarks on how delicious the wine is and did you have any trouble finding the David Foster Wallace at the store? And was the sommelier there helpful? And what year did he recommend because this is really really quite good? And you smile and try to decide whether or not to say anything because you know that you'll need to say something but how are you going to make up something plausible on the spot. But then your wife blurts out that it's really a George Saunders and don't you just love it? Because she slurped down her glass of George Saunders and it was her third of the night anyway because she and your friend's wife managed to down a whole bottle of David Sedaris as a warm-up but they both agreed it was too dry for them even though you and your friend think that it's the perfect middle-of-the-week wine. For a moment you're paralyzed with fear because this was your shot, your chance to show off and really shine and display your competence and you blew it because you were too chicken shit to tell the sommelier at the counter that you picked up the wrong bottle by mistake. But instead your friend raises an eyebrow and says that it's wonderful, just delightful, and he'd never tried it before and though maybe it's not as dry as the DFW, does it ever have a great finish and it's just perfect for a dinner party, isn't it? ...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Paquita Maria Sanchez rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

I think that if the arrangement of this collection had been reversed I would be singing a different tune right now, but as it stands I am a bit torn regarding rating this thing. Man, these stories are well-written. Saunders is darkly witty, and clearly his heart is in the right place. His main point of contention with the modern world is the reckless hammer of Capitalism, an easy target to be sure, but that is arguably all the more reason to call it into question. The injuries that it inflicts a I think that if the arrangement of this collection had been reversed I would be singing a different tune right now, but as it stands I am a bit torn regarding rating this thing. Man, these stories are well-written. Saunders is darkly witty, and clearly his heart is in the right place. His main point of contention with the modern world is the reckless hammer of Capitalism, an easy target to be sure, but that is arguably all the more reason to call it into question. The injuries that it inflicts are almost universally felt.

In Pastoralia, Saunders has created a series of near-future worlds sprinkled with Dystopian and Horror elements, in which the voyeuristic tendencies and indiscriminately exploitative undercurrents of modern society are heightened in such a way that they become grossly comical. The name of the game is satire, and he pulls out all the stops while driving home just how pathetically isolating, spirit-breaking, and hedon-making the process of staying above water in today's Western World has become for its majority. Saunders has the panache of a Gilliam, Burgess, or Huxley, most effectively executed in the phenomenal title story which composes the first half of the book. However, his sardonic message eventually gets to feeling a bit redundant, and the stories seem to grow weaker and weaker as you move forward. For one, he is not really in the habit of crafting likeable characters. This is not generally a deal-breaker for me (if you know me on gr, that should be clear enough), but it begins to feel short-sighted after a while. Then again, I suppose that if you continuously grind a person down, there eventually won't be much left other than his or her most vile, base desires and tendencies. Enter George Saunders...

I dunno; maybe the novella Pastoralia just outshines the rest of the stories by far too many watts. Still, the collection is a fast and surprisingly breezy read for its dark content. I would strongly recommend Saunders to anyone with a stomach of steel and the heart of a cynic. Or anyway, that's me, and I thought this was pretty damn good indeed.

*Just imagine a fourth star, but its bulb is perpetually burning out in that way that makes it erratically flicker on and off. Deal? ...more

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Mar 17, 2019 Vit Babenco rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“Bread and circuses,” ancients used to say… And George Saunders smartly turns the art of modern entertainment into an effervescent absurdist comedy.
Pastoralia is some sort of luna park or freak show established to educate and amuse the public. The protagonist works there impersonating a caveman.
And the ways the society is being entertained tell everything about society as such too…

“Remember I told you about Chief Joseph, who never stopped walking? You’re like him. My brave little warrior. Bibby,

“Remember I told you about Chief Joseph, who never stopped walking? You’re like him. My brave little warrior. Bibby, give him a juice box. Also he’s got some goo-goo coming out of his nosehole.”
“Jesus Christ,” Janet mumbles.
I give her my sternest look.
“What was that?” says the dad. “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you just say?”
“Nothing,” Janet says. “I didn’t say nothing.”
“I heard you very clearly,” says the dad. “You said Jesus Christ. You said Jesus Christ because of what I said about the goo-goo in my son’s nosehole. Well, first of all, I’m sorry if you find a little boy’s nosehole goo-goo sickening, it’s perfectly normal, if you had a kid of your own you’d know that, and second of all, since when do cavepeople speak English and know who Jesus Christ is? Didn’t the cavepeople predate Christ, if I’m not mistaken?”
“Of course they did,” the mom says from outside. “We just came from Christ. Days of Christ. And we’re going backwards. Towards the exit.”
“Look, pal, I got a kid,” says Janet. “I seen plenty of snot. I just never called it goo-goo. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Bibby, get this,” the dad says. “Parenting advice from the cavelady. The cavelady apparently has some strong opinions on booger nomenclature. For this I paid eighty bucks? If I want somebody badly dressed to give me a bunch of lip I can go to your mother’s house.”
“Very funny,” says the mom.
“I meant it funny,” says the dad.
“I was a good mom,” Janet says. “My kid is as good as anybody’s kid.”
“Hey, share it with us,” says the dad.
“Even if he is in jail,” says Janet.
“Bibby, get this,” says the dad. “The cavelady’s kid is in jail.”
“Don’t you even make fun of my kid, you little suckass,” says Janet.
“The cavelady just called you a suckass,” says the mom.

Winky is an acrid fable of religion and hatred…

From out of his suit he pulled a bowl and a box of oatmeal, and filled the bowl with the oatmeal and held the bowl up.
“Simple, nourishing, inexpensive,” he said. “This represents your soul in its pure state. Your soul on the day you were born. You were perfect. You were happy. You were good.

Sea Oak is a blasphemously weird tale of an unholy resurrection.
The Barber’s Unhappiness is a story of a dork dreaming to have a kiss of his life…

In the mirror was a skeletal mask of blue and purple and pink that the barber knew was his face but couldn’t quite believe was his face, because in the past his face had always risen to the occasion. In the past his face could always be counted on to amount to more than the sum of its parts when he smiled winningly, but now when he smiled winningly he looked like a corpse trying to appear cheerful in a wind tunnel. His eyes bulged, his lips were thin, his forehead wrinkles were deep as sticklines in mud.

Misfits and losers – they have a special niche reserved for them in this world. ...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Madeleine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: head-in-the-clouds-nose-in-a-book, our-libeary, 2013, blogophilia

Based on the opinions of people with excellent taste in books, I knew I was in for something good when I grabbed Pastoralia from the shelf the other day. I didn't know what to expect beyond that but it sure wasn't the sardonic giggles this collection gave me. Does everyone find their first foray into Saunders's mind this darkly endearing? 'Cause.... lemme tell you, you all led me somewhere I can't wait to revisit.

There is something off about the worlds Saunders creates. Not off-the-charts unbeli Based on the opinions of people with excellent taste in books, I knew I was in for something good when I grabbed Pastoralia from the shelf the other day. I didn't know what to expect beyond that but it sure wasn't the sardonic giggles this collection gave me. Does everyone find their first foray into Saunders's mind this darkly endearing? 'Cause.... lemme tell you, you all led me somewhere I can't wait to revisit.

There is something off about the worlds Saunders creates. Not off-the-charts unbelievably weird (view spoiler) but there's this vertiginous element to them that makes being jarred from such a mercilessly absorbing reading experience by, say, the unwelcome intrusion of your job (whyyyyyyy do you people keep assuming I'm here to proofread your ineptitude when I'm so clearly lost in something that is infinitely more rewarding than your refusals to grasp the nuances of proper comma usage and pica distances WHYYYY?) a little disorienting upon reentry. I encountered a thing that doesn't happen often enough while reading this short-story collection: I forgot I was reading because I was so engrossed in the tales Saunders was weaving. Picturing the story that was taking shape right in front of me was equal parts riveting and really quite disturbing. Kind of like the clown car on fire that you'll snap photos of as you pass the gruesome scene but fuck no you're not stopping to help because it's a car full of clowns and everyone knows that clowns are evil but then the sadness of the whole thing hits you when you post the picture (along with an appropriately glib comment) on Twitter later but you're still snickering about the image for days.

And then there is something distinctly, deliciously Vonnegut-flavored here, too, but Saunders even makes that all his own. While Vonnegut's humor seemed like that of a cranky but avuncular relative whose lessons seem harsh at the time but are driven by an overriding love and a desire to emphasize the necessity of self-improvement, who softens the blow of reality with a satirical wit, Saunders seems more interested in pointing out the flaws so they can be turned into a long-running joke that derives its comedy from the dichotomy between a thing's inherent potential for dark humor and the deadpan subtlety in observing it from such an angle. It's realizing the hopelessness of a situation and having a good laugh at its expense because, otherwise, the void wins and everything is rendered too meaningless to face just one more insignificant day.

Pastoralia, ultimately, is a collection of stories that proves if you're taking life too seriously, you're doing it all wrong. Tragedy is just comedy that tests your resolve to arrive at the punchline. ...more

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Feb 25, 2017 Teresa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: n-eua, l-1001bymrbyd, 5e

Na vida raramente há cabrito no "Tabuleiro Grande" e quase sempre papas de aveia no "Tabuleiro Pequeno". E mesmo assim... "na vida real há pessoas a chegar ao pé de nós e a cagar nas nossas papas de aveia a toda a hora."
Entre as Lengalengas da Auto-Ajuda, os Comprimidos para a Tristeza, as Lamúrias, e outras panaceias, o melhor é optar por RIR... lendo, por exemplo, George Saunders...

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Jun 25, 2010 Joshua Nomen-Mutatio rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, short-stories

Like other folks I know and respect on Goodreads, I loved the opening, titular story but found the rest of the book to be middling. Like, disappointingly, forgettably, middling. I know the stories were kinda weird and stuff but for the life of me I can barely even remember what they were about or even distinguish them from each other. I don't think I've ever felt so uneven about a short story collection. It's so strange that it makes me curious enough to give them a reread at some point, despite Like other folks I know and respect on Goodreads, I loved the opening, titular story but found the rest of the book to be middling. Like, disappointingly, forgettably, middling. I know the stories were kinda weird and stuff but for the life of me I can barely even remember what they were about or even distinguish them from each other. I don't think I've ever felt so uneven about a short story collection. It's so strange that it makes me curious enough to give them a reread at some point, despite the less than flattering description I've just given. I feel like I must have read them incorrectly somehow, since the opening story was so engaging and fun, which is where the ~~four~~ three stars come from.

I love books and films that utilize facades and museum-like tableaux and the story "Pastoralia" does this with great effect. This quality plus the cover image of my copy of this book has established itself so firmly in my mind that when I see things like fake trees indoors or big landscape/nature murals (think of the paintings placed around City Hall on the TV show Parks and Recreation) that I think of them as being "Saunders-like" in the instant-association segment of my brain. I haven't yet totally over-analyzed what my attraction to certain uses of facades and replicas is all about yet (though there's been a more extended musing on this elsewhere) but I guess it might just have something to do with fond childhood memories of visiting museums and being enthralled by the displays of animals and humans, made to be lifelike but frozen into place behind glass. I still experience a powerful mix of sentimentality with a healthy dose of Ineffability when I revisit the Milwaukee Public Museum, a place I've wandered around many times over the years, each time worrying that I'll drain the magic of the childhood memories on this visit, but each time managing to still feel wrapped in an almost mystical euphoria and nostalgia.

Saunders tale is surreal and dark and playful and some of its main devices called this feeling up from the inner depths.

This is still the only Saunders I've read. I assumed his work would be so up my alley that I ordered three of his short story collections last year, had my weirdly uneven experience with this one and haven't exactly felt compelled to make the others a priority yet. I still have a sense that I'll like more of his work, but this experience was just such a strange disappointment in a way I can't really explain at all. At least I have a case to solve now, so I'll be back to Saundersville to snoop around for clues and answers later. ...more

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Dec 09, 2016 Peter Boyle rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories

''His childhood dreams had been so bright, he had hoped for so much, it couldn't be true that he was a nobody.''

These stories, wacky as they may be, don't paint a very flattering portrait of modern life. A father takes a job as a grunting caveman at a run-down theme park in order to pay his son's exorbitant medical bills. A male stripper earns a meagre wage to support his ungrateful family, who spend their day watching reality TV like How My Child Died Violently and The Worst That Could Happen, ...more

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Mar 16, 2008 Heidi Mckye rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Any person who does not deeply love George Saunders is not allowed to be my friend. Even a little bit.

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Mar 21, 2017 João Carlos rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contos-short-stories, l2017

”Pastoralia” reúne seis contos de George Saunders (n. 1958): Pastoralia, Winky, Carvalho do Mar, O Fim de Firpo Neste Mundo, A Infelicidade do Barbeiro e As Cataratas; todos publicados originalmente na revista norte-americana New Yorker .
Os seis contos de George Saunders são histórias de homens e mulheres que têm comportamentos estranhos, exibindo uma excentricidade e uma singularidade incomum, por vezes, bizarra e esquisita, para os padrões de conduta “normais” e que acabam por agir e reagir ...more

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Feb 24, 2017 Julie rated it really liked it

Almost two decades before George Saunders published the everybody's-talking-about-it book, Lincoln in the Bardo, he published Pastoralia.

Pastoralia is a collection of six short stories, and they are some of the weirdest, bleakest, and most well-written ones I've ever encountered.

As I worked through (struggled through) each one of them, I kept asking myself, "Are these dystopian?" I tend to think of "dystopian" as futuristic, or containing more futuristic elements, of government-imposed rations, Almost two decades before George Saunders published the everybody's-talking-about-it book, Lincoln in the Bardo, he published Pastoralia.

Pastoralia is a collection of six short stories, and they are some of the weirdest, bleakest, and most well-written ones I've ever encountered.

As I worked through (struggled through) each one of them, I kept asking myself, "Are these dystopian?" I tend to think of "dystopian" as futuristic, or containing more futuristic elements, of government-imposed rations, restrictions, etc, and these stories are not like that. However, when I looked up the actual definition of the adjective "dystopian," this is what I found: "relating to or denoting an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one."

Okay. So, yes, they're dystopian.

The first one, Pastoralia, the lead story of the collection, is the longest and the weirdest. I think his editor made a mistake placing this in the first position. I found the story beyond quirky and unrelatable, and I would have been done with the entire collection after this weird tale, had I not told my sister I would read this book.

The second, third and fourth stories were so dark and depressing, I wished I'd had a cup of Kool-Aid and a cyanide capsule to go along with the book. Reading about the people in these stories is like having a nightmare in which a former reality-tv host is the president of the most powerful country in the world, and waking up to discover it's true.

In the fifth and sixth stories, I finally got to sit back a little and think, "Damn, Mr. Saunders, when you're not depressing the hell out of me, you can be funny and a little bit romantic, too. It made me hopeful to read Lincoln in the Bardo.

But, of course, the last sentence of the collection left me sucker-punched in the gut. Who is this guy?

I'm hesitant to recommend this, unless you're a reader who likes to smack your shoulders up against the edge, or if good writing supercedes all else for you.

Four stars for excellent writing, originality and memorable, though disturbing perspectives on humanity. . . that I hope, despite our current despair, are not true. ...more

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Feb 21, 2019 Fuchsia Groan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: relatos, favoritos

En Lincoln en el Bardo, que no me pareció una obra tan redonda como estos cuentos, se puede apreciar que George Saunders tiene talento para el relato corto, las pequeñas historias de los personajes fueron para mí lo más atractivo de la novela.

Con Pastoralia he disfrutado de cada página, de cada diálogo, de cada sonrisa amarga, de cada patada en el estómago que me ha llevado a la carcajada, de cada situación surrealista, de cada uno de sus personajes fracasados, atrapados y humillados, irritante ...more

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Jan 05, 2018 Sinem A. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: new-but-good

çok iyi karamizah örneği öykülerden oluşan kitapta yeralan öyküler günümüz insanının trajikomik halini inanılmaz bir dille anlatıyor. kurgu, yaratılan atmosfer mekan ve kişiler harika bir zeka ürünü. belki biraz amerikan ama modern insanın hezimetine güsel eğlenceli bir ağıt.

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Jan 10, 2019 Marchpane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories, 19-20-19

The stories in Pastoralia were pretty great. Saunders definitely has a schtick here – sad-sack characters worn down by the unfairness of life in (mostly) comedic situations – but as there’s just six stories, it doesn’t get a chance to wear thin. The satire is goofy yet melancholic and it never feels mean. Such a short book though, reading it all in one go means it’s over too soon.

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May 27, 2008 Mykle rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Wal-Mart employees contemplating suicide

Shelves: can-t-decide

I finished this last night when I couldn't sleep ... I adore George Saunders in small doses, he is so very funny and has such an ear for the pathos of our sad American industrial poverty.

But there's a kind of story that he writes over and over again ... not exactly the same story but the same kind of story. A story about a hilariously awful job, a hilariously difficult life and a sad, pathetic person stuck within. I don't even object to the repetition, but when I read it all back to back the re ...more

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Dec 11, 2017 Konserve Ruhlar rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

...

Okurken fena şekilde etkilendiğim bir kitabı öylece bırakıp yeni bir kitapla yelken açamıyorum okuma denizinde. Pastoralya da bu kitaplardan biri. Hem George Saunders öykücülüğüne giriş yaptığım kitap hem de absürt hikayeleri bu dozda okuduğum ilk kitap. Etgar Keret’i çok severim. Türkçede bu tarz hikayelerde iyi olarak gördüğüm İsahag Uygar Eskiciyan ‘ın kitaplarıyla tanıştığımdan beri Türk Edebiyatı’nda hikaye anlatımında çeşitlilik ve yeniliğin uzun zamandır beklediğim bir okuma deneyimi o ...more

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Oct 01, 2016 Hazal Çamur rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Adeta bir Kaybedenler Kulübü'nün absürt uyarlaması bu kitap. Saunders'tan Türkçe olarak okuduğum 4. kitap ve Saunders kitapları arasında favorilerime girmiş bulunuyor.

Bu kitapta kara mizah var, taşlama var, sizi tam güldürürken tokat atan bir yapı da var.

Hayatın gidişatına, düzene ve tüketim toplumuna bir türlü ayak uyduramamış "ezikler"in hikayelerinden derlenen bir kitap bu. Günümüz toplumsal düzeninin damgaladığı insanların trajikomik maceraları. Geniş bir aralıkta yer alan bu insanların her ...more

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Oct 08, 2018 Nuno Simões rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

entre a ressaca das eleições do Brasil e o fim da leitura deste livro dei comigo a questionar se este mundo, cheio de idiotas, imbecis e ignorantes, merece um escritor como George Saunders...

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Feb 08, 2018 Guille rated it it was amazing

Grandísima lectura. Un magnífico puñado de buenos cuentos que me han gustado incluso más que ese otro gran puñado que se recogían en “Diez de diciembre”, en los que Saunders mostraba una mayor tendencia a la respuesta explícita a las distopías que en ellos planteaba. Aquí los finales son más abiertos o menos categóricos, con un resultado, para mí, mucho más amargo y efectivo.

De Saunders, me fascina su estilo naiff tan cargado de mala leche, como plasma con una sencillez extraordinaria, con una e Grandísima lectura. Un magnífico puñado de buenos cuentos que me han gustado incluso más que ese otro gran puñado que se recogían en “Diez de diciembre”, en los que Saunders mostraba una mayor tendencia a la respuesta explícita a las distopías que en ellos planteaba. Aquí los finales son más abiertos o menos categóricos, con un resultado, para mí, mucho más amargo y efectivo.

De Saunders, me fascina su estilo naiff tan cargado de mala leche, como plasma con una sencillez extraordinaria, con una engañosa inocencia, el lugar al que nos dirigimos (o peor aun, el lugar donde ya estamos) en cuanto a relaciones laborales, sociales o familiares, consiguiendo que te conmuevas ante los patéticos hechos y los grotescos personajes que pueblan sus mundos y que, al mismo tiempo, te indignes ante lo que son, lo que suponen y la verdad que encierran.

En la buena literatura, la línea recta no tiene por qué ser el camino más corto ni el más interesante de recorrer. En los cuentos de Saunders, la narración es exagerada, los paisajes distorsionados, los personajes se mueven en ese estado de infantilismo que parece imponerse más cada día en una parte cada vez más importante de la sociedad, en el que predomina esa crueldad básica de los niños que exigen la satisfacción inmediata y fácil de sus deseos más primarios; esos sin-clase que ya han bajado los brazos ante lo que les han convencido que es irremediable, que se dejan ir y conducir y son tratados por jefes, vecinos, clientes, y, lo que es más grave, por ellos mismos, como lo que son, elementos sociales, laborales o políticos totalmente prescindibles e intercambiables. Las derrotas íntimas, las miserias y mezquindades cotidianas, los comportamientos cobardes, los autoengaños, las fantasías consoladoras, estrategias en las que todos caemos con mayor o menor insistencia, son narradas en fantásticos diálogos interiores, mostrándonos unos cuantos motivos de nuestra congénita falta de felicidad, imposible de alcanzar e incluso de perseguir.

...more

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Mar 08, 2019 Fábio Martins rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

5 estrelas tufadas, rendidas e incondicionais. Mestre. Avé.

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May 21, 2017 lit.erary.britt rated it really liked it

Shelves: short-stories-essays

This collection was totally up my alley. Saunders' writing kind of reminds me of Vonnegut, who I later realized was one of his inspirations. I was not a fan of Lincoln in the Bardo, but I'm so happy I gave his short stories a chance. Can't wait to read more of his work!

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Jun 01, 2018 Markus rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: us

White Trash ist - glaube ich - die übliche Bezeichnung für die typischen Charaktere, die George Saunders satirische Kurzgeschichten bevölkern. Mit beißender Ironie stellt er die nicht so glänzende Seite der amerikanischen Erfolgsgesellschaft bloß. Es sind tragische Schicksale, bedingt durch die absurde Logik eines Systems, in dem angeblich jeder die Freiheit hat, aus seinen Fähigkeiten etwas zu machen, eben auch jene, die sich ganz ohne Fähigkeiten in dieser Welt finden, die Kaputten, die Trauma White Trash ist - glaube ich - die übliche Bezeichnung für die typischen Charaktere, die George Saunders satirische Kurzgeschichten bevölkern. Mit beißender Ironie stellt er die nicht so glänzende Seite der amerikanischen Erfolgsgesellschaft bloß. Es sind tragische Schicksale, bedingt durch die absurde Logik eines Systems, in dem angeblich jeder die Freiheit hat, aus seinen Fähigkeiten etwas zu machen, eben auch jene, die sich ganz ohne Fähigkeiten in dieser Welt finden, die Kaputten, die Traumatisierten und die Gestörten.

Morse macht sich Sorgen, wegen seinem Sohn Robert und dem in Bälde anstehenden Klaviervorspiel. Morse hat ihm eine Tastatur aus Pappe zum Üben gebastelt, aber die hat Annie, die süße kleine Schwester gegessen. Noch dazu wissen sie nicht einmal, wann und wo das Vorspielen stattfinden soll. Das Klavier hat der Exekutor mitgenommen. Er macht sich auch Sorgen, dass er sich zu viele Sorgen macht. Eines weiss er nämlich: nur mit positivem Denken, mit Optimismus kann man es schaffen und das macht ihm Sorgen.

Eine andere Geschichte spielt in einem Steinzeit-Themepark. Die Angestellten hausen in urzeitlichen Bauten und braten Ziegen, sie müssen grunzen und sich kratzen, englisch sprechen ist verboten. Abends bewerten sie ihre Kollegen auf einem Formblatt und faxen es an die Verwaltung. Als der Touristenstrom nachlässt, werden die Leute genötigt, sich gegenseitig zu denunzieren, um einen Mitarbeiterabbau zu rechtfertigen. Auch hier wird positives Denken belohnt, schließlich ist jeder für seinen Erfolg selbst verantwortlich.

Die sechs Stories sind in ihrer brachialen Überzeichnung und Absurdität äußerst heftig. Wenn im Hof, wo die Kinder spielen, gerade eine kleinere Schiesserei stattfindet, während die Erwachsenen auf dem Sofa liegen und eine TV-Talkshow namens "Wie mein Kind gewaltsam ums Leben kam" schauen, ist das bezeichnend für diese Art von 'politisch unkorrektem' Humor, den man vorwiegend im englischen Sprachraum findet, dem Subtilität und Feingefühl völlig fehlen, der aber die Menschenverachtung einer Gesellschaft, in der das Tragen einer Waffe quasi als 'Menschenrecht' gilt, umso schonungsloser entlarvt.

Betroffen macht mich die Tatsache, dass die Realität oft gar nicht mehr so weit von der Satire entfernt ist. Bei allem Witz bleibt ein bitterer Nachgeschmack.

Sprache und Ton sind dem Milieu, in dem die Stories spielen, angepasst und sind für ihre spezielle Wirkung unverzichtbar. Ich habe den schweren Fehler gemacht, die Geschichten in der deutschen Übersetzung zu lesen. Das hat die Lesefreude deutlich getrübt. Die deutsche Fassung bringt das nicht authentisch herüber. Ich habe mir Ausschnitte des Originals online angesehen und ich würde sicher vier Sterne vergeben - da ich die deutsche Edition bewerte, sind es nur ★★★. ...more

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Nov 03, 2010 MJ Nicholls rated it it was ok

Shelves: short-stories, merkins

‘Pastoralia’ (the opening story) shows what Saunders can do. How his prose can be funny and surreal and warm and satirical and touching. Unfortunately, having done this, the other stories in this collection seem like shticky filler. ‘Winky’ was another strong piece, but I found myself snoozing through ‘Sea Oak’ which does a surrealist dance in a ra-ra skirt, and getting annoyed by his rhythms in ‘The Barber’s Unhappiness.’ His repetition, his rambling passages of superfluous detail, how he goes ...more

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May 14, 2016 Jon rated it really liked it

This is the second collection of Saunder’s short stories I’ve read and Pastorlia is cut from the same cloth as the first. Think of the cartoon strip, The Far Side, in story form and you’ll get the idea of what his writing is like. His stories are weird and funny, with a pronounced absurdist edge to them. Saunders often populates his stories with a menagerie of misfits who are life’s punching bags. While their struggles are played for laughs, there is, at times, an underlying pathos to his charac This is the second collection of Saunder’s short stories I’ve read and Pastorlia is cut from the same cloth as the first. Think of the cartoon strip, The Far Side, in story form and you’ll get the idea of what his writing is like. His stories are weird and funny, with a pronounced absurdist edge to them. Saunders often populates his stories with a menagerie of misfits who are life’s punching bags. While their struggles are played for laughs, there is, at times, an underlying pathos to his character’s determined efforts to remain optimistic in the face of a cosmos equally determined to give them metaphorical wedgies. In the end, however, life usually grinds them down and even death doesn’t bring relief:

“We bury her at St. Leo’s, on the hill up near BastCo. Her part of the graveyard’s pretty plain. No angels, no little rock houses, no flowers, just a bunch of flat stones like parking bumpers and here and there a Styrofoam cup. Father Brian says a prayer and then one of us is supposed to talk. But what’s there to say? She never had a life. Never married, no kids, work, work, work.

Sometimes she comes to me in dreams. She never looks good. Sometimes she’s wearing a dirty smock. Once she had on handcuffs. Once she was naked and dirty and this mean cat was clawing it’s way up her front. But every time it’s the same thing.

“Some people get everything and I got nothing,” she says. “Why? Why did that happen?”

Every time I say I don’t know.

And I don’t”

Sauders is a savage satirist and takes careful aim at American society. One of his frequent motifs is the seedy amusement park as a microcosm for America. The title story is yet another foray into that theme. Pastorlia is a historical amusement park where living people play act in dioramas of the past. As a threatened restructuring looms, the story becomes a Dilbert-like skewering of corporate culture:

“And in terms of mass firings, relax, none are forthcoming, truly, and furthermore, if they were, what you’d want to ask yourself is: Am I Thinking Positive/Saying Positive? Am I giving it all I’ve got? Am I doing even the slightest thing wrong? But not to worry. Those of you who have no need to be worried should not in the least be worried. As for those who should be worried, it’s a little late to start worrying now, you should have started months ago, when it could’ve done you some good, because at this point, what’s decided is decided, or would have been decided, if those false rumors we are denying, the rumors about the firings which would be starting this week if they were slated to begin, were true, which we have just told you, they aren’t”

I liked the book, but it’s not for everyone. The stories are often freakish and bizarre, filled with satire sharp enough to draw blood and a bleak view of American society. Saunders does have a unique voice and an original style, but I have to admit I did find his 1st book, CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, to be somewhat repetitive, largely due to four of the stories being set in amusement parks. There’s a little more variation in setting and themes in this collection and even a couple of stories that could be considered to have “happy endings” or what passes for a happy ending in Saunder’s world view.
...more

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Oct 02, 2016 Kayıp Rıhtım added it · review of another edition

Shelves: başka-kurgular

Herkes bir kaybeden bu kitapta. Birbirinden tuhaf ve toplum nezdinde ezik bu karakterlerin hepsi absürt hikâyeler sahip. Fakat onlara gülemiyorsunuz. Çünkü tam güleceğiniz zaman beyninizden vurulmuşa dönüyorsunuz.

Daha da acısı, bu düzene ayak uyduramamış tuhaflar, eziklerde, hepimizin kendinde bulacağı yönler var. En az bir öyküde kendinizden bir şeyler bulacaksınız. Duygu ve düşüncelerinizin derinlerine dalarak bir köşeye terk ettiğiniz kimi anılarla ya da kendinizle ilgili şüphelerinizle yüzle Herkes bir kaybeden bu kitapta. Birbirinden tuhaf ve toplum nezdinde ezik bu karakterlerin hepsi absürt hikâyeler sahip. Fakat onlara gülemiyorsunuz. Çünkü tam güleceğiniz zaman beyninizden vurulmuşa dönüyorsunuz.

Daha da acısı, bu düzene ayak uyduramamış tuhaflar, eziklerde, hepimizin kendinde bulacağı yönler var. En az bir öyküde kendinizden bir şeyler bulacaksınız. Duygu ve düşüncelerinizin derinlerine dalarak bir köşeye terk ettiğiniz kimi anılarla ya da kendinizle ilgili şüphelerinizle yüzleşeceksiniz. Empati kuracaksınız. Bu sırada kitabı elinizden bırakamayacaksınız.

Karakterlerin büyük kısmı ya annesi dahil, kimse tarafından sevilmeyen/kabul görmeyen kişiler ya da annesi veya başka bir akrabasıyla yaşayan ve onlardan bir türlü kurtulamayan bireyler. Aslında tam burada birey demem çok ironik, çünkü bireyselleşme aşamasını tamamlayamamış kişiler onlar. Annelerinin ya da birlikte yaşadıkları akrabalarının boyunduruğunda, başkalarının seçtiği hayatı, başkalarının seçtiği rollerde oynayan kişiler. Evet, hepsi de çok gerçekçiler.

Bu tür karakterlerle ilerleyen kitap, haliyle içinde sessiz bir çığlık da barındırıyor. Dilin ucuna kadar gelen ve ipleri kopartacak tüm o sözler, dışarı çıkamadan buhar olup uçuyor. Oysa biz okur olarak hepsini oldukça hızlı bir akışta, birinci ağızdan okuyoruz. Aynı öfke damarlarımızda kabarıyor. Yüzleşme anı geldiğindeyse, yine karakterde olduğu gibi, fıs diye sönüveriyor.

Öykülerin her birinin (hatta Saunders’ın diğer öykü kitapları da dahil) birinci tekilden olması da bunda büyük etmen. Özellikle karakterlerin kendi zihinlerindeki düşüncelerin akış hızına göre Saunders’ın yazım hızı da değişiyor. İnsan nasıl ki çok kısa sürede birçok düşünce arasında sıçrar, daldan dala konarsa, Saunders da yazım hızını buna göre ayarlayıp sık sık hızlandırarak karakterlerin iç seslerinde gaza basıyor. Çoğunlukla da karakterlerin iç dünyalarında olduğumuz için de koşturmacası bol bir kitap okuyoruz. Tempo hiç düşmüyor.

Unutmadan ekleyelim: Karakterlerin hepsinde bir çocukluk travması da mevcut. Ama hangimizin yok ki? Derinlerde bir yerde, kıpraşıp duran, rahat vermeyen ama Saunders’ın anlatımıyla tam bir kara mizah öğesine dönüşen travmalar bunlar. Onlar haykırmasın da kim haykırsın? Haykırsalar bir… Ah!

George Saunders bu kitabında da kara mizaha olan hakimiyetini ortaya koymuş. Hem kara mizah, hem de trajikomiklik kelimelerinin hakkını veren ve bunları tarz edinmiş bir yazar olarak tam karşımızda. Eminim ki ondan daha nice kitap okuyacağız. Delidolu ekibinin yazarın başka kitaplarını da dilimize kazandıracağını düşünüyorum.

Eğer hâlâ yazarla tanışmadıysanız araya fazla açmayın. Sonra pişman olursunuz; benden söylemesi.

- Hazal ÇAMUR

İncelemenin tamamı için: http://kayiprihtim.com/inceleme/pasto... ...more

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Aug 11, 2016 Ümit Mutlu rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: foreign, fiction, stories, for-work

Komikmiş gibi davranan, oysa hiç de komik olmayan öyküler bütünü. Bütünü hüzünlü ve çocukluğa dair ve başaramayışa ve başaramayışı kabullenişe ve daha bir sürü saçma sapan duruma dair. Paramparça ve yitik hayatlara dair.

Saunders'ın mizahı tam bir kamufle aracı. Kaybetmekle kalmayıp boş da veren bir sürü siktretmiş karakter, birbirinden absürt durumların yegâne kahramanları.

Tüketime, Amerikan rüyasına, başarıya ve seks imajına dair tonla eleştiri.

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May 27, 2018 Sofia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Winky: 3 estrelas. De todos os contos que compõem este livro foi o que gostei menos.
Carvalho do mar: 3,5 estrelas. A fazer-nos pensar até que ponto as nossas escolhas e a nossa passividade determinam o nosso percurso de vida.
O fim de Firpo neste mundo: 4,5 estrelas. O conto mais curto e também o mais triste...
A infelicidade do barbeiro: 4 estrelas. De como algumas pessoas passam a vida toda com a vida a passar-lhes ao lado
As cataratas: 3,5 estrelas. Repete um pouco a ideia dos dois últimos.

Em co ...more

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Jul 21, 2015 Saverio Mariani rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: narrativa-straniera, narrativa-nord-americana, racconti

Di Saunders, appena uscito in Italia, avevo letto Dieci dicembre. Ne rimasi piacevolmente sorpreso, sebbene il distacco dalla realtà troppo spesso mi sembrava un po' sterile.
Sono amante dei racconti, e forse troppo legato a Raymond Carver per apprezzare davvero Saunders; il quale, rimane, comunque un notevole scrittore di shorts stories.
Pastoralia contiene comunque dei lampi di genio, come Il parrucchiere infelice e Le cascate, i due racconti che chiudono il libro. Due racconti che sono strapp ...more

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Jun 27, 2014 Sub_zero rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: reto-2014, summerthon-2014, short-stories

En Pastoralia, el escritor norteamericano George Saunders traslada las preocupaciones y desavenencias sociales de la clase media estadounidense al interior de una caleidoscópica y camaleónica plétora de voces narrativas que cautivan por su aplastante virtuosismo o ese humor corrosivo que transforma la socarronería en sentimiento de culpa. Este libro reúne un total de seis piezas absolutamente extraordinarias que ridiculizan todo aspecto de una 'satirizable' estructura social cincelada en forma d ...more

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Apr 18, 2017 Marcello S rated it liked it · review of another edition

Non posso dire di essere entrato del tutto in sintonia con questi racconti di Barthelm… No, volevo dire di Saunders.
Forse un po’ troppo strani, surreali.
Mi piace l’idea di raccontare momenti delle vite di personaggi strambi, nerd, frustrati.

Credo sia più facile goderseli per un americano che per un europeo [4.1 la media voto generale / 3.6 la media voto per l’edizione italiana].
In ogni caso non lasciano indifferenti e continuano a girarmi in testa.
Ci devo pensare. [69/100]

Pastoralia ✖✖✖
Winky ...more

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Apr 08, 2015 TK421 rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories

This collection is easily the best collection of stories I have had the pleasure to ever read. Dark. Cynical. Horrific. And, yet, these stories possess a level of truth in each one that resonates long after the story ends. Simply put: George Saunders is brilliant.

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About George Saunders

George Saunders

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George Saunders was born December 2, 1958 and raised on the south side of Chicago. In 1981 he received a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He worked at Radian International, an environmental engineering firm in Rochester, NY as a technical writer and geophysical engineer from 1989 to 1996. He has also worked in Sumatra on an oil exploration geophysi ...more

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Quotes from Pastoralia

“Down in the city are the nice houses and the so-so houses and the lovers making out in dark yards and the babies crying for their moms, and I wonder if, other than Jesus, has this ever happened before. Maybe it happens all the time. Maybe there's angry dead all over, hiding in rooms, covered with blankets, bossing around their scared, embarrassed relatives. Because how would we know?” — 15 likes

“Good God, but life could be less than easy, not that he was unaware that it could certainly be a lot worse, but to go about in such a state, pulse high, face red, worried sick that someone would notice how nervous one was, was certainly less than ideal, and he felt sure that his body was secreting all kinds of harmful chemicals and that the more he worried about the harmful chemicals the faster they were pouring out of wherever it was they came from.” — 9 likes

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