CivilWarLand in Bad Decline: Stories and a Novella

A little over a year ago, I picked up Tenth of December, the much-acclaimed short story collection by George Saunders, and was blown away. What I expected was stories about "upper class white people problems"; what I got was a collection of funny, sharp, satirical looks at America, with stories ranging from Renaissance Fairs to futuristic nightmares to corporate torture memos. I was floored and thrilled; here, I thought, was a short story writer who got away from tales of ennui and angst, telling stories that had a point but entertained, made you laugh, and still worked as rich, well-written works. I didn't realize when I chose CivilWarLand in Bad Decline as my follow-up that it was Saunders' earliest collection; I knew it was acclaimed, like most of his work, and had a lot of love, and had a pretty great title. What I didn't realize, though, is that it represented a point where Saunders was still finding his voice, to some degree. In the author's note that follows the book, Saunders comments that there's a reason that just about every story here revolves around amusement parks (even if they're all dystopian nightmare amusement parks) - it was a way to force himself out of emulating Hemingway and Carver, and into his own more unique voice. The downside, then, with CivilWarLand is that it doesn't quite show as much range as the masterful Tenth of December. As mentioned, almost all of the stories revolve around bizarre Westworld-type amusement parks, and the few that don't still revolve around escapist entertainment, by and large. As a result, the stories blend together a little more; while each has its own unique story and plot (the title story features the Civil War park forced to recruit mercenaries from Vietnam World to help clear out a gang problem, with predictably nightmarish results), the settings tend to blur together a bit more than you'd hope. And yet, even so, that doesn't keep the collection from being wildly successful, very funny, and even profoundly moving. Saunders has a taste for black comedy, and it pays off superbly here, with the tragicomedy "The 400-Pound CEO" being a real standout, as it tells the story of a morbidly obese man mocked by his co-workers who only wants to be loved. It's both painful and hysterically funny, as Saunders contrasts his passive, lonely hero with the absurd cruelty of his co-workers and the bizarre actions of his employer. Meanwhile, stories like "Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz" show that Saunders is capable of profound emotion, as a man in control of virtual reality experiences searches for a way to escape his own painful life. And, of course, there's that title story, that mixes world-building, violence, and satire into a potent and effective combination. Yes, in some ways, these stories blend together, and sometimes hit a bit too hard on the same themes and tropes. But even so, it's clearly the voice of an author that's finding himself, and the fact that he brings such variation, even in similar tales, speaks well of the author that Saunders would become. And even here, where he's taking his first steps, he's still writing stories unlike much else out there, and creating worlds, characters, and prose that really demand to be experienced. It's not as good as Tenth of December, but that doesn't mean it's not superb stuff indeed.

George Saunders seems able to write only about near-future corporate hell and decaying theme parks. And, he writes the same types of characters into each story. The main characters cannot act out their desires, because their desires place them outside the system. This makes them somewhat pitiful. The ones who can act out their desires within the system are objectionable because they are tailoring their desire to the system itself. Saunders has staked out for himself this part of the torture of modern life. In the hands of a less talented writer, this narrow focus of setting and character would be a drawback. The decayed settings and amoral characters of Donald Antrim's writings are similar, for example, but after a few Antrim stories, you see that there is no more depth than the surface chaos. Saunders seems able to find new depth in the souls of his characters every time he looks into them. In his work, each main character finds his own way out of the rat race. Oh, it also doesn't hurt that Saunders' writing is hilarious and highly readable.

All of Saunders's stories are starting to run together for me. That's not necessarily a bad thing. He retells the same story over and over, really, but I really dig it. I say this because every story's theme is basically the same thing: bad guys trying to do good things. I use the term "bad" loosely because here's the rub: we're all bad. We're all bad people just trying to do good. Saunders's stories are a call to action: Do Good. Now, the details: "The Wavemaker Falters" is my favorite in this bunch. Clever symbolism and wordplay punctuated by tragic dark humor. "Leon's been rising steadily since we went through Orientation together, and all told he's saved three Guests and I've crushed the s*** out of one." "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline," the title story is strong. It's like "Pastoralia" (published later, but read first by me) with a supernatural twist. Also, maybe arming crazy gun nuts to protect our safety from scary teenagers isn't a good thing. "Bounty", the novella in this collection, is like an extended cut of "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline." With the weird mutations of the Flawed--clawed toes, vestigial tails--I see where Karen Russell gets her inspiration from. "Isabelle" is a kick in the teeth. I don't know what else to say. "Offloading for Mrs. Schwartz" is a heartstring puller. The closest thing to a three-hanky weeper you'll find in a George Saunders collection. "Downtrodden Mary's Failed Campaign of a Terror" is an amazing title that deserves a slightly better story, but, hey, transparent cow. I think this is a real experiment. This story feeds my desire for corporate sabotage. "The 400-Pound CEO" reminds me to try hard, try so hard, not to judge people or be mean. This is hard for me. Saunders's stories are plum full of empathy. The narrator says "What do my colleagues know of Dad? What do they know of me? What kind of friend gets a kick out of posting in the break room a drawing of you eating an entire computer? What kind of friend jokes that someday you'll be buried in a specially built container after succumbing to heart strain? I'm sorry, but I feel that life should offer more than this." When people are down, we, as a society, keep them down. And then they want to stay down.

I absolutely love George Saunders' short stories and this book was impossible to put down. I finished it in a single afternoon.

Was a gift for someone who likes dystopian science fiction. They loved it.

all good

Okay.. These are supposed to be ground-breaking stories and Saunders is being hailed as potential Nobel Prize material, but I found these stories nauseating, bordering on the crude -- a kind of American Horror Story carnival episode meets The Grapes of Wrath. Are they entertaining? Some may find them so. I was put on edge by them, and maybe some people like that, but I don't appreciate "edge" after a hard and stressful day. The language is thoughtful but in a garish way, and his later works, although still dealing with the same themes, are a far better read. I thought this book was overrated.