“Pastoralia” by George Saunders – The Fruits of Capitalism
There are millions upon millions, if not billions upon billions of different books on this planet, and yet it feels as if many novels are very similar to each other, in content, structure, characters, and even dialog in some cases. However, that is not (always) done as an attempt to cash in on a rip off… rather, people tend to try and follow conventions, which doesn't leave too much room for originality.
Fortunately, there are some authors out there who don’t mind taking risks and going on their own path, authors such as George Saunders. In his second collection of stories, Pastoralia, George Saunders looks at three different plot-lines, all of them set in the same universe: an America ravaged by capitalism.
In that world, there are the rich and the poor, and people belonging to both social classes are grotesquely deformed, each in their own way. As you can guess, it’s a pretty dark, gruesome and gritty world, made worse by the fact that an Orwellian government is watching over everyone, ready to hand out prison sentences by the dozen.
All in all, those who appreciate dark humor, weird and original characters, like to go deep in their analysis of books and/or like the "wasteland-like" setting I described earlier, will definitely have a blast reading this book.
The first story follows that of a couple who live out their entire lives on smoking breaks from their jobs at the zoo of re-enacting cavemen. The second story is that of a so-called loser who, after attending a seminar which prompted him to get rid of the bad people in his life, decides to get rid of his semi-crazy sister, only to realize he needs her as much as she needs him.
Finally, the last story is that of a stripper who works in a restaurant, lives with her unemployed sisters, their babies, her old aunt, and of course, they are located right next to a crackhouse. Suddenly, the aunt dies, but then she decides to come back as if there was nothing, gaining certain powers in the process, although it is obvious none of those powers have anything to do with stopping rotting flesh from decomposing. Also, the aunt has experienced what it’s like to be in a grave, and in her words "It sucks so bad!".
While on the surface this book seems like a very somber and perhaps even violent adventure, this is not George Saunders’ style. Yes, the setting is unsettling, but as I discovered while reading the book, it doesn’t mean that there is no place for love and humor. As a matter of fact, there is much more place for it than I would have ever imagined. I guess this is what you would refer to as a black comedy, although there is much more than that to it.
Finally, the last story is that of a stripper who works in a restaurant, lives with her unemployed sisters, their babies, her old aunt, and of course, they are located right next to a crackhouse. Suddenly, the aunt dies, but then she decides to come back as if there was nothing, gaining certain powers in the process, although it is obvious none of those powers have anything to do with stopping rotting flesh from decomposing. Also, the aunt has experienced what it’s like to be in a grave, and in her words "It sucks so bad!".
While on the surface this book seems like a very somber and perhaps even violent adventure, this is not George Saunders’ style. Yes, the setting is unsettling, but as I discovered while reading the book, it doesn’t mean that there is no place for love and humor. As a matter of fact, there is much more place for it than I would have ever imagined. I guess this is what you would refer to as a black comedy, although there is much more than that to it.
For starters, there is the entire social criticism aspect of it, with the dystopian future where it seems that you are either destined to be poor and miserable, or rich and happy to have material possessions (this is basically Saunders’ way of speaking out against capitalism).
In addition, each one of the stories has some kind of moral about human nature, showing that even though our environments may change, there are certain aspects about ourselves which will remain true no matter what we do.
All in all, those who appreciate dark humor, weird and original characters, like to go deep in their analysis of books and/or like the "wasteland-like" setting I described earlier, will definitely have a blast reading this book.
 | George SaundersPersonal site George Saunders is an American writer who dabbled in essays, children's books, novellas and short stories, in addition to which his writing was featured in The New Yorker, amongst other publications. He won multiple National Magazine Awards for fiction, received a MacArthur Fellowship, in 2013 won the PEN/Malamud Award, and is equally-known for his works of fiction and non-fiction, which include Pastoralia, Tenth of December and The Braindead Megaphone. |
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