Tenth of December

Stories

By: George Saunders

Narrated by: George Saunders

Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NAMED ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST FICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE BY ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY AND BUZZFEED • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY People • The New York Times Magazine • NPR • Entertainment Weekly • New York • The Telegraph • BuzzFeed • Kirkus Reviews • BookPage • Shelf Awareness

One of the most important and blazingly original writers of his generation, George Saunders is an undisputed master of the short story, and Tenth of December is his most honest, accessible, and moving collection yet.

In the taut opener, “Victory Lap,” a boy witnesses the attempted abduction of the girl next door and is faced with a harrowing choice: Does he ignore what he sees, or override years of smothering advice from his parents and act? In “Home,” a combat-damaged soldier moves back in with his mother and struggles to reconcile the world he left with the one to which he has returned. And in the title story, a stunning meditation on imagination, memory, and loss, a middle-aged cancer patient walks into the woods to commit suicide, only to encounter a troubled young boy who, over the course of a fateful morning, gives the dying man a final chance to recall who he really is. A hapless, deluded owner of an antiques store; two mothers struggling to do the right thing; a teenage girl whose idealism is challenged by a brutal brush with reality; a man tormented by a series of pharmaceutical experiments that force him to lust, to love, to kill—the unforgettable characters that populate the pages of Tenth of December are vividly and lovingly infused with Saunders’s signature blend of exuberant prose, deep humanity, and stylistic innovation.

Writing brilliantly and profoundly about class, sex, love, loss, work, despair, and war, Saunders cuts to the core of the contemporary experience. These stories take on the big questions and explore the fault lines of our own morality, delving into the questions of what makes us good and what makes us human.

Unsettling, insightful, and hilarious, the stories in Tenth of December—through their manic energy, their focus on what is redeemable in human beings, and their generosity of spirit—not only entertain and delight; they fulfill Chekhov’s dictum that art should “prepare us for tenderness.”

GEORGE SAUNDERS WAS NAMED ONE OF THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN THE WORLD BY TIME MAGAZINE

©2013 George Saunders (P)2013 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A feat of inventiveness . . . This eclectic collection never ceases to delight with its at times absurd, surreal, and darkly humorous look at very serious subjects. . . . George Saunders makes you feel as though you are reading fiction for the first time.” (Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner)

“The best short-story writer in English—not ‘one of,’ not ‘arguably,’ but the Best.” (Mary Karr, Time)

“A visceral and moving act of storytelling . . . No one writes more powerfully than George Saunders about the lost, the unlucky, the disenfranchised.” (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

Stories from the Brain

Brilliant storytelling, straight from the minds of the subjects. Some “adult” content. Captivating reading by the author.

Less is More

as Mini(minimalist)Mies was wont to say....although I'm sure that Mr. Saunders has the chops to be a marvelous novelist... in this instance, i wish he had eschewed the longer form as only the novella in 10th of December seemed to me somewhat tiresome, whereas the short stories that preceded it were uniformly interesting in both form and content...he is a splendid reader (certainly, at the very least, of his own material) and i would love to hear him narrate more short stories. i would (and have) recommended this book to friends and am confident they will thank me for it.

Eben rosenthal

This is a very well written and read book that speaks to him the human condition and investigates interpersonal relationships and death in a novel way

Better in tangible book form, but that is me

If you could sum up Tenth of December in three words, what would they be?

As I said in my headline, I wish I rather had the book in hand. The author uses many current colloquialisms with which I'm not familiar (that shows my age!) and I would have liked to see them. The stories are good: bizarre, contemporary 'problems', esp. of parenting; that I liked.

Did George Saunders do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I was not always sure who was talking

Any additional comments?

What I said above, applies to this book. Otherwise I am an avid audible.com listener.

Fascinating Stories, Brilliantly Read

Would you consider the audio edition of Tenth of December to be better than the print version?

I would never be able to answer this question, but I can say this: George Saunders reads his own book in the way that I always wish authors could do. I'm not sure even my favorite actors could have spoken from inside these characters in this hilarious and poignant manner.

What does George Saunders bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

George Saunders reads his own book in the way that I always wish authors could do. I'm not sure even my favorite actors could have spoken from inside these characters in this hilarious and poignant manner.

I mean.... awesome

I really enjoyed it. Repeat listens still hold up. Just great. Looking forward to hearing more Saunders.

Surprising revelation

I loved both the story and performance of the book. Stories are both funny and deeply touching. Didn't have any real expectations and was carried away by it.

Good entertainment

Somewhat difficult to get when there was a new short story :) But I recommend it for the pace, language and existensialist thoughts

A brilliant observation of human traits.

A little scattered at some points but excellent observation of the human condition and what it might become.

Gets you thinking! You're out of your comfort zone

If you could sum up Tenth of December in three words, what would they be?

Fascinating, weird, challenging.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Tenth of December?

The last story, inside a person who realized that his suicide attempt was the wrong action and what he was going to miss.

Any additional comments?

It's been a few weeks since I listened to this on a cross country trip. Will listen to it again as there was a lot of detail that I slept through (I sleep when I'm not the driver). 10th of December really gets you thinking, thinking deeper. The author did a great job reading.