If you havent read you dont have the voice. The lack of voice eliminates experience. – George Saunders
Im finding, as I get older, that Im not much of a believer in redemption. I mean, I believe in redemption in real life – redemption does happen, and its cool when it does – but I find myself getting leery of my desire for it in stories (especially my own). – George Saunders
Fiction is a kind of compassion-generating machine that saves us from sloth. Is life kind or cruel? Yes, Literature answers. Are people good or bad? You bet, says Literature. But unlike other systems of knowing, Literature declines to eradicate one truth in favor of another. – George Saunders
We have that illusion that we are deciding what to make a character do, in order to convey our message or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide whos been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water. – George Saunders