Reading Order
Tenth of December Reading Order
George Saunders's Tenth of December (2013) is his most celebrated story collection — ten stories set in a recognizable near-future America, combining Saunders's comic satirical voice with genuine emotional depth. The title story, about a middle-aged man planning to end his life and a boy who interrupts him, is widely considered one of the finest American stories of the decade. Saunders won the Man Booker Prize for his novel Lincoln in the Bardo (2017), but most readers encounter him first through his short fiction, which appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere. His influence on American short story writing since the 1990s has been enormous.
Where to start
Tenth of December
Complete Tenth of December Book List
- 1Buy
Tenth of December
George Saunders·2013·The essential Saunders — ten stories, including 'The Semplica Girl Diaries,' 'Home,' 'Escape from Spiderhead,' and the title story, covering the full range of his satirical and empathic voice. - 2Buy
Lincoln in the Bardo
George Saunders·2017·The novel — Abraham Lincoln grieving his son Willie in the Georgetown graveyard, narrated by hundreds of ghost voices, the Man Booker Prize winner, Saunders's only novel. - 3Buy
Pastoralia
George Saunders·2000·The earlier story collection — 'Pastoralia,' 'Sea Oak,' 'Winky,' some of Saunders's finest and funniest stories, essential after Tenth of December. - 4Buy
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline
George Saunders·1996·The debut collection — the first Saunders stories, the theme park satires, the stories that introduced his voice to readers and editors in the mid-1990s.
Tenth of December — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Saunders story to read first?
Most readers and critics recommend starting with 'The Semplica Girl Diaries' or 'Tenth of December' from the 2013 collection as a first Saunders story — they show the full range of his voice (the diary-style formal experiment in 'Semplica Girls,' the directness of emotion in 'Tenth of December') without the satire being so thick that the reader misses the empathy. 'Sea Oak' from Pastoralia is the other most commonly recommended first Saunders story, a zombie horror comedy that shows the earlier, sharper satirical Saunders.
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