I admit, I have never read George Saunders, which makes me some sort of short-story philistine I believe, and I love short stories. So, I am afraid I cannot compare this collection to his previous works. What I can tell you is that these nine stories are startling. They are dark, spiky, sad and imbued at times with a dark humour. They explore class, power and morality in near-future dystopias (and to be frank, some of them are current dystopias). As a reader you are never comfortable, but you are kind of complicit.

This collection of short stories explores ideas of power, ethics, justice and oppression in a somewhat-near dystopian future.

George Saunders is an excellent storyteller, which really shines through in his short stories. Often, short stories can feel rushed or incomplete, but this collection is made up of complete, fully formed and well-written ideas. Saunder’s narrative style is very abstract, and this means it sometimes took a little while for me to figure out what was actually going on in each story, but this only added to the impact of each individual message when I figured it out. Although each story is based in it’s own little world, the complete collection comes together in a cohesive and scathing commentary on modern life.

As is always the case with short story collections, I thought some were better than others. My personal favourites were Ghoul (in which people working in a sort of underground ghost train afterlife situation are required to whistle blow on each other), Elliott Spencer (in which the poor have their memories erased and are turned into human-robots used for protests), and A Thing At Work (in which two colleagues take turns at dobbing each other in to the boss for workplace transgressions).

I read George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardot a few years ago and was blown away by his creativity and narrative style. He takes well-used concepts, strips them bare, then reassembles them into unique and quirky stories. This collection of shorts certainly won't be for everyone - his inventive use of language and punctuation takes some effort - but if you're struggling, persevere and you'll be rewarded! The stories are varied, several from near future sci-fi where humans are owned and manipulated, others are modern-day family tales, but most cover the theme of free-will and what it means to choose our futures.

I loved the Tenth of December, so I was very excited about Saunders' newest collection of short stories. Like all compilations, I enjoyed some stories more than others. My favorites were Sparrow and My House. I had a hard time staying engaged and wanting to pick this book back up, but once I did, I usually enjoyed what I read. It just felt like a chore and took me too long to get through, unfortunately.

George Saunders is recognised as one of the best short story writers of his time and in this new collection of nine stories he is on excellent form. He has the skill of telling a story from an oblique or unusual angle which allows him to convey different and challenging insights and, while the stories are in some senses political, it is the humanity which is always in the foreground.

He also has the knack of allowing situations to slowly reveal themselves without being overtly described. One story begins with workers in a satanic theme park, their day-to-day disagreements and determination to do a good job as it slowly materialises that they are already in some kind of hell. In another, a helpful reader or speaker bringing dramatic history to life for the benefit of rich adults turns out to be a victim, reflecting the same kind of process by which wealthy people enjoy the latest technology without thinking of the cost in human lives in far-off countries. These are stories to make you think!

One of my favourites is a simple letter from a grandfather to his grandson which is essentially a long apology for not realising, for not resisting and for then allowing a dystopian government to take control. It’s a lesson for white liberals without being polemical about taking your eye off the political ball. Behind the sophisticated prose this is hardball writing. It’s a great collection and highly recommended.

A wondrous collection of stories that I would compare to Shirley Jackson (Mother’s Day and My House) in their mixture of small town undercurrents and Philip K Dick (Elliott Spencer and Liberation Day) with fantastical glitches on society.
I don’t think there was a story that didn’t work or felt that it dragged the flow of the book as a whole.
A collection to savour and revisit.

Liberation Day is the latest collection from the weird and colourful mind of George Saunders. And like any of his short story collections, it contains tales that will delight readers and some that might leave them scratching their heads.

Elliott Spencer definitely sits in the latter camp. Its characters are reprogrammed to become political protesters. They have their memory wiped and are retaught language, which makes their speech quite difficult to decipher. And I'm not sure it's quite worth the effort - I didn't get a lot out of that particular story. Another one I struggled with was Ghoul - a tale of a dystopian society with some strange laws and customs.

But there were others I thoroughly enjoyed. The title story is a very unsettling affair in which a wealthy man recreates battle scenes using actors and singers whose minds have been erased. A Thing At Work is a funny and strangely compelling account of an office rivalry between two very different women that gets way out of hand. And Mother's Day is a fascinating tale of two mothers who disapprove of the other's parenting skills while failing to see the shortcomings of their own.

A mixed bag overall, to be sure. The stories that I admired were funny and insightful, taking me inside the minds of characters that felt totally real. But even the ones that didn't work left me appreciative of the imagination and effort involved. Reading George Saunders is never boring - I can't wait to see what that wonderful brain comes up with next.

I really wanted to like this collection more than I did. I have read George Saunders before and know - and appreciate - his very unique style. One of the major strengths of his writing is his character-driven stories - the voices that are evident in his short prose are hugely impressive, often entertaining and usually thought-provoking.
For me, I really enjoyed 'Love Letter', 'Mother's Day' and 'House'. Others I found trickier, such as the title story, and 'Ghoul'. Some of Saunders' tales grab me immediately, and I marvel at the qualities he has; others leave me cold, and even though I recognise this as being subjective, it's a shame that there are not more that do the former, and fewer that do the latter.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether all art has to be beautiful. I wonder whether all books have to be enjoyable. George Saunders books are often an enigma to me, I can really enjoy bits while other bits float over my head somewhere. There is no difference with this selection of stories. His traditional stories I really liked, other stories were almost indecipherable to me.
Whilst overall I enjoyed the book I am still waiting to read one of his books that I get completely.
My thanks to the publisher for an advanced copy for honest review.

Liberation Day by George Saunders is a dystopian and fantastical varied collection of short stories.

This was a great read - super easy and flowed so nicely. I raced through it which is always a good sign!

Since reading 'A Swim in a Pond in the Rain', I've read all of Saunders' writing, and this latest collection was a great new edition.

The collection of stories were each well told, and I enjoyed the variety of form. One is told as a letter, and another particularly memorable one is told through a voice who consistently mixes up syntax - both of which I loved.

Of all the stories, the one that I think stuck longest with me was 'Ghoul'. The succinct world-building was compelling, and I loved the strangeness of it.

Overall, I couldn't recommend it more highly!

Saunders is a master of the short story. None of these quite rose to the heights of 10th of December, his first collection but still hugely enjoyable and with moments of breathtaking awe at his mastery of prose and story.

In this anthology of nine short stories, Saunders examines some deep and important themes, as you'd expect from a writer of his calibre. There is a very particular type of observation of the world that he conveys into fiction about themes such as exploitation, poverty, and human nature, that is compelling. So developed are the observations, it does feel as if Saunders is using the medium of fiction to convey his own deeply felt opinions. His fiction is a soap box. Perhaps all fiction writers do this to an extent, of course, but some of these stories feel as though they convey deeply, very deeply felt objections and sociological ideas that only fiction can convey. They're provocative, these stories, and they seem designed to make you think about your own opinions. That's, in some cases, burdening (I use the word as lightly as possible) fiction with a big job.

What I like is the brevity of narrative style, and the variety of genres which include maternal relationships in a contemporary piece, a dystopian world, and science fiction. The perceptiveness is also note-worthy.

Short story collections are difficult to rate, because they're a jig saw of ideas, and this one is particularly difficult because whilst as a reader, I *liked* most, as an academic, I *appreciated* all. So four and half stars.

My grateful thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers for the privilege of an advance copy.

Could not WAIT to read LIBERATION DAY and it absolutely lived up to my expectations.

I love George Saunders' writing, and this new collection of dystopian short stories tackles morality and power, with wit that turns suddenly to something more challenging. Character's vulnerabilities are exploited, and there are very clearly some economic lines drawn between the near-future of Saunders' stories and the world we currently live in.

The title story and "Ghoul" were my favourites; The Mom of Bold Action was a pretty close third.

Although I find Saunder's writing to my liking, most of the stories included in "Liberation Day" were not my cup of tea.

If I had to individually rate the nine short stories that make up this collection, then I would say seven are at least 4-star (maybe three 5-star and four 4-star?). The remaining two for me detracted a little from what is a very strong collection. Although some are futuristic, dystopian, even experimental, all are deeply human. George Saunders is a wonderful writer with a very sharp understanding of human nature, all its weaknesses and emotional baggage. Special thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing Plc (UK & ANZ) and Netgalley for a no-obligation advance review copy.

Although short stories are not my favourite format but I can acknowledge that George Saunders has a rare gist for it. The amount of compassion, wit and pathos that he manages in such short narratives is remarkable. Each one, despite their diverse subjects from disturbing dystopias to workplace conflicts, is a brilliant snapshot of the absurdity of and complexity of human character. The threads of humour can have you laughing out loud while his insights into issues of justice, exploitation and power linger long after the story is over and tie them all together.

I have been more into dystopianesque books recently - which is no surprise with how the world is. I really enjoyed this, it was well written with a compelling storyline and well-developed characters. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

3.5/5.

Surely the best story writer at work. (The speculative stories are just slightly the least of it.) Forget it, competitors. Favourite story (and also the funniest): A Thing at Work.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.