For this month’s Writer’s Book Club, I listened to George Saunders narrate his book The Tenth of December. The book is a National Book Award Finalist and Time, Entertainment Weekly, and BuzzFeed named The Tenth of December one of the best books of the decade.

George Saunders is also no slouch. His only novel (to date) is Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the 2017 Man Booker Prize and was a finalist for the Golden Man Prize. Saunders has received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships and the PEN/Malamud Prize for excellence in the short story.

Prior to this book, I read several thrillers. When I started The Tenth of December, it was as if I’d been eating fast food and now was dining on an eight course gourmet meal. Saunders plays with words like a concert pianist plays with keys and yet it’s not dry, literary fiction. It’s poignant, humorous, and memorable.

The stories range from “Victory Lap” (my favorite) about two teenage neighbors going about their day until a stranger shakes their innocence, to the unsettling “Puppy” when a woman attempts to adopt a puppy and discovers something horrific about the puppy’s owners, to “The Semplica Girl Diaries” and its unsettling lawn ornaments. The stories illuminate our human struggle and the harshness of our society.

What I like about The Tenth of December

The language in this book conveys emotions in both profound and simple ways. Humor is interspersed throughout, connecting the reader to the humanity of the characters. And the descriptions of characters and settings flow with the story. For instance, this is the beginning of “Home,”

Like in the old days, I came out of the dry creek bed behind the house and did my little tap on the kitchen window.

 

“Get in here, you,” Ma said.

 

Inside were piles of newspaper on the stove and piles of magazines on the stairs and a big wad of hangers sticking out of the broken oven. All of that was usual. New was: a water stain the shape of a cat head above the fridge and the old orange rug rolled up halfway.

Saunders also does a terrific job narrating his stories, which made me wonder if he has an acting background — he doesn’t.

Issues I had with the book

When they edited the audiobook, they should have created a larger pause between stories. It took me a moment to realize the first story had ended and a new one had begun. It was confusing at first, but once I realized the quick story changes, I got used to it.

I wanted more (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing)

I immediately bought the paper version of the book and the audio version of Saunders’ latest book of short stories, Liberation Day. At the end of the paperback, there’s an interview of Saunders by David Sedaris (another favorite author of mine) and it’s a gem for writers. I particularly like what Saunders says about working on his novel (which became Lincoln in the Bardo) which is how I feel about my current manuscript, The Runner:

“So far, it’s a lot of fun, and about every other day it seems like a big fiasco, a completely unviable train wreck, which, based on my experience with stories, indicates that it might be a worthy adversary.”

Ultimately, I’d like another novel from Saunders. In the meantime, I’ll keep buying his short stories.

How this has affected my writing

I struggle with bringing out emotions in my characters and understanding their interiority. I’d also like to interject more humor in my stories. Rather than read how-to craft books to how to do these things, I’ll immerse myself in Saunders’ stories.

The Tenth of December gets 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 for masterful storytelling.

Next month’s Writer’s Book Club

An oldy, but a goody – The Outsiders by S. E. Winton (and narrated by Jim Fyfe), a coming-of-age story about two gangs defined by their socioeconomic status. The book has spawned a 1983 film adaptation starring C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez, Tom Cruise, and Diane Lane and a Tony award-winning Broadway play.