Tenth of December

It's a little bit of a roller coaster ride tonally and stylistically, but this is part of Saunder's charm. Though I'm sure he's a careful and intentional writer, these pieces have the feel of someone who wrote each one in single sessions, never to look at again. They are darkly hilarious. He's never “cute” funny, but existentially so. Most of these stories occupy various dystopian versions of Earth and our otherwise normal society, which lend the collection an unsettling feel: this is all completely familiar and “normal”, and yet it is astonishing how easily this normalcy can coexist with such deeply dark twists on reality. It makes us see how human nature and our own “civilization” are so close to such a world we would currently find unacceptable and wicked.

These parallel-universe worlds are not concerned with much mythology or world-building. You are dropped into the life and story of someone trying to live in these circumstances which they feel are entirely normal. Some of the stories seem to exist in the same sci-fi world, while others exist in their own dystopias. But not all the stories fit this genre, which makes these other, seemingly non-dystopian stories carry a sense of dread the entire time. You never know if the next paragraph will reveal that this new favorite character of yours actually exists in a terrible version of reality as either victim or perpetrator. It keeps you uneasy, and it is thrilling.

Perhaps one of Saunder's greatest gifts is also a drawback of this collection. Every single character, no matter how minor, is a CHARACTER. They are memorable and have such interesting ticks and particularities. He seems to have so much fund with them. However, this can de-humanize some of them sometimes. We never encounter someone who is an entirely relatable human. They all seem to exist in se, disconnected from a broader philosophy of humanity.

But still, this collection is so much fun, and it's scatter-brained, mad genius, pace and diversity–while at times can throw you off and take you some time to re-calibrate your bearings moving into the next story–is brilliant and astonishing and beautiful and, at times, truly profound.