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)

Sharp edges, read slowly

Any additional comments?

Sometimes you just have to set a book down. Then, by all means, pick it up again. Not because it isn't good, but because its like a chocolate torte, and should be eaten in small bites in order to savor it. Because too much chocolate is just…ewewh. So, be warned, this book is funny, in a quirky type of way. Which I guess is exactly what the author was going for, so don't be afraid to put it down between stories and just….roll it around in your mouth so to speak, before you pick it up and listen to more. As good as these stories are, I am baffled as to why the author felt he should read them himself. But, maybe he was in a hurry, or didn't know anyone who narrates, or for whatever the reason, don't let his somewhat stilted narration stop you from enjoying it. Just…small bites. That's my advice, small, digestible bites.

Listen, then read.

Undeniably the best book I have read or listened to in a decade.

Short stories require the lightest touch, while developing characters and narratives in a very short time. I listened to this and laughed out loud, stopped in the middle of a walk to listen carefully, so very carefully, to the beauty of the language.

Description - hmmm. Maybe better to read the NY Times interview/conversation with George Saunders. Simple stated, stories that put a finger on the pulse of our times interspersed with tempo changes that either ground the stories in reality or allow them to soar into a kind of magical realism.

I felt heard and seen in the landscape as I listened to this astounding creation.

Amazing set of stories

This book does a phenomenal job of showing the inner thought and feelings of the characters. It is written from the perspective of each characters inner monolog, this perspective really gets you into the mindset of the characters and makea it feel like you can understand them in a way booms rarely can. Well worth the listen, narration is great as well, entonation and cadence matches each character well.

Amazing stories and narration

This may be my all time favorite collection of short stories. Funny, thought provoking, tragic, and memorable. I'll listen to these again and again. Saunders is also the perfect narrator for this recording.

Great stories

Such a well written and crafted collection of stories. Thought it was voiced perfectly by author. Was sad when it ended.

Average audiobook

I know a lot of people love these short stories and love the author. I found some of the stories to be good, and some just didn't really keep my attention. I listen to a lot of audiobooks. This one is somewhere in the middle. I've tried to listen to Saunders' new novel Lincoln and Bardo, an audiobook that many people rave about. It wasn't for me, so maybe there's something in Suanders' work that I don't get.

Saunders does a good job with the narration in Tenth of December. It sounded awkward at first, but it grew on me. Overall, The Tenth of December was just okay.

Brilliant

One of the best listens in my long list of Audible purchases. George Saunders nails the characters as only an author can.
The characters hail from an intriguing array of situations, not all true to life, yet one finds something relatable in (almost) all.
Cudos to George Saunders!

I listened twice in one week.

Where does Tenth of December rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is probably the best audiobook I've experienced.

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

The characters are so intensely personal. I identified closely with so many of them.

Any additional comments?

Just listen to it. Some of the best storytelling I've ever heard.

Too much in too little time

Serious adult subject matter read as a children's book. This is an example where the author shouldn't have narrated the story.

Could've been split into three shorter stories. I found it hard to fellow.

An all-time favorite

I can't say much about George Saunders that hasn't already been said, but I can verify that his praise is well earned. These stories are original to the point of quirkiness, laugh-out-loud funny, satirical, and profoundly sad--all together and at the same time. Saunders is very skilled at making you care about his hapless, flawed characters, so when they experience joy and hope or, more often, disappointment, humiliation and defeat, you deeply empathize with them. There are also a bunch of fascinating, sometimes tragic, sometimes fun science fiction elements to these stories, which I really enjoyed.

I highly recommend this to anyone looking for hilarious, tragic, deeply moving stories from a very original voice.

Oh, and Saunders does an excellent job narrating his own writing. Somehow his voice really fits the characters, which I mean as a compliment, but which he might consider an insult.