I tend to foster drama via bleakness. If I want the reader to feel sympathy for a character, I cleave the character in half, on his birthday. And then it starts raining. And hes made of sugar. – George Saunders
When I was a kid, I took The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family very seriously. It was a world to me in the same way that the Greek myths would have been had I read them. You know, Marcia is Athena and Mr. Brady is Zeus. – George Saunders
If death is in the room, its pretty interesting. But I would also say that Im interested in getting myself to believe that its going to happen to me. Im interested in it, because if youre not, youre nuts. Its really de facto what were here to find out about. – 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