A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life

By: George Saunders

Narrated by: George Saunders, Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, Glenn Close, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, BD Wong, Renée Elise Goldsberry

Length: 14 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

From the New York Times best-selling, Booker Prize - winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves — and our world today.

For the last 20 years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it’s more relevant than ever in these turbulent times.

In his introduction, Saunders writes, “We’re going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn’t fully endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art — namely, to ask the big questions, questions like, How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?”

He approaches the stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.

This audiobook includes a PDF of the tables, outlines, figures, and appendices from the book.

©2021 George Saunders (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Saunders is a gentle giant in American letters whose fiction frequently champions the downtrodden and satirizes a society rife with economic inequality.... [A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is] an analysis of classic Russian fiction that doubles as an introductory seminar on the mechanics of short stories - namely, how do they work and why?... Why does fiction matter now? The answer, Saunders finds, lies in understanding reading to be a kind of life skill - for understanding our position in the world, for arbitrating truth.” (The Wall Street Journal)

“This book is a delight, and it’s about delight, too.... [A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is] very different from just another ‘how to’ creative writing manual, or just another critical essay.... One of the pleasures of this book is feeling [Saunders’s] own thinking move backwards and forwards, between the writer dissecting practice and the reader entering in through the spell of the words, to dwell inside the story.” (The Guardian)

“A master of contemporary fiction joyously assesses some of the best of the 19th century.” (Kirkus Reviews)

Wonderful narration

This felt like taking a Russian lit class and was a great way to learn more about it. I liked the stories that were chosen to dissect and it gave me a greater appreciation for them than when I probably had to read some of them in high school. Also the narration was phenomenal on audio.

Beautiful and Brilliant

Saunders picks Russian short masterpieces and explains them in a way I would not have appreciated without such explanation. In this book, I have found some of my favorite stories I have ever heard, performed by some of the best voice actors of our time. This is truly a book of riches.

A must read for all readers

A must-read for all readers. It's about the art of short stories but has so much more to offer. I love Saunders' style of having us rethink and relearn on how to look at stories.

just perfect

I return to this audio recording regularly. It's so helpful and inspired, and Saunders' voice in your ear is downright restorative.

Better than all my college lit classes combined

Now I know more why I respond to reading as I do. Loved every sometimes tedious seeming part which became not tedious then.

Exquisite

Read beautifully and comments by George Saunders fresh and brilliant. A perfect book to read with Russian authors who have the humanity that seems to be lacking in the Russia of today.
The short stories portray the whole gamut of emotions.
This is one book I could absolutely read again.

Great!

A triumph in teaching methods and philosophy. I learned a lot from his style, comments upon the writing methods and look forward to following this author in future evaluations and interpretations of famous authors.

Incredible, diverse narration, thoughtful, humorous, surprising analysis.

What a great experience it was to listen to this book. George Saunders gave such articulation and breathed new light into the stories. I also love the selection of narrators which infuse the story with pathos and a contemporary twist.

Go Deeper

The best lesson I've ever received in writing, reading, and understanding fiction. Digs deep into the heart of writing. Don't be misled by other reviews, all of the stories are here in their entirety, read by worthy actors.

In The Cart by Chekov
Gooseberries by Chekov
The Darling by Chekov
Master and Man by Tolstoy
Aloyosha the Pot by Tolstoy
The Nose by Gogol
The Singers by Turgenev

A Revelation

I’ve been waiting for a book like this my entire adult life. Everything about it is perfect. The performances of those reading the seven stories are incredible. George Saunders is my dream teacher. What a gift this book is!