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Liberation Day

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Liberation Day

By: George Saunders
Narrated by: George Saunders, Tina Fey, Michael McKean, Edi Patterson, Jenny Slate, Jack McBrayer, Melora Hardin, Stephen Root
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About this listen

 Bloomsbury presents Liberation Day by George Saunders, read by George Saunders, Tina Fey, Michael McKean, Edi Patterson, Jenny Slate, Jack McBrayer, Melora Hardin and Stephen Root.

Named a book of the year 2022 by the Sunday Times, The Times, Guardian, Irish Times, New Statesman, BBC and Waterstones

'One of the best science fiction short stories to be published in the 21st century so far' SFX Review
‘Saunders is funny and kind as ever, and his narrative virtuosity puts him up there with the best’ Anne Enright, Guardian
‘A triumph of storytelling’ i paper
‘A joy. Effortlessly stylish, funny and smart’ Daily Mail
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The first short story collection in ten years from the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo


MacArthur genius and Booker Prize-winner George Saunders returns with a collection of short stories that make sense of our increasingly troubled world, his first since the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist Tenth of December

The 'best short story writer in English' (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose – wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned – Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality.

'Love Letter' is a tender missive from grandfather to grandson, in the midst of a dystopian political situation in the not-too-distant future, that reminds us of our obligations to our ideals, ourselves, and each other. 'Ghoul' is set in a Hell-themed section of an underground amusement park in Colorado, and follows the exploits of a lonely, morally complex character named Brian, who comes to question everything he takes for granted about his 'reality.' In 'Mother’s Day', two women who loved the same man come to an existential reckoning in the middle of a hailstorm. And in 'Elliott Spencer', our eighty-nine-year-old protagonist finds himself brainwashed – his memory 'scraped' – a victim of a scheme in which poor, vulnerable people are reprogrammed and deployed as political protesters.

Together, these nine subversive, profound, and essential stories coalesce into a case for viewing the world with the same generosity and clear-eyed attention as Saunders does, even in the most absurd of circumstances.

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'The only way to experience Saunders’s oblique, farcical, tragic world is to dive right in. It will take the top of your head off, but it’s worth it’ The Times
'The world’s best short story writer … Liberation Day is great art' Daily Telegraph©2022 George Saunders (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Anthologies & Short Stories Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories Scary Funny
All stars
Most relevant
Beautiful, disturbing, dark and light but mostly dark, comentary on human nature and society in the most imaginative way. Beatifully written. So many voices, allegories, narratives that slowly come together and reveal themselves. Voices of self interest, self justification, disinterest, innocence, regret, love, hate, anger, spite, ... Remarkable writing. I think I loved it .. but I had to take rest breaks, it's quite disconbobulating.

Extraordinary

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I bought this mostly because of the glowing reviews and because I was curious. Sadly the stories didn’t engage me and were fairly depressing I found the narrators a bit bland, rather like the stories. Sorry.

Failed to engage me

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It is the first book of this author that I listened to and was blown away by his amazing writing, Deep stories combined with humour that keep you engaged for the entirety of the book. Highly recommend

Amazing storytelling

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Wow, that caught me off guard. Listen, trust it, the pay off is enchanting.

Poignant, weird bursts of splendour.

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How to rate this? By quality of imagination, writing, originality, narration? Or by enjoyment of the experience? Well, firstly these are quite extraordinary stories and, alone, each would cause me to pause, consider reflect. But jammed together as they are with barely a pause for breath between the ending of one and the launching of the next was disconcerting, leaving no time to ponder before the author launch into another new world. Similarly, whilst each narration excellently performed their piece, run together in this way leaves an impression of hysteria. So no, I did not enjoy the book.as a whole.

Nine short stories, each of varying length, the first and last read by the author. And each left me with a feeling of discomfort, even hopelessness. And, curiously, a feeling of wanting escape as my mind frequently switched off and I unexpectedly slept. So perhaps I could recommend this title as an aid for insomnia: except there is no guarantee that the dream state , if it followed, would not be one of hopelessness and dysfunction, even madness.

"The efficacy of my tree stimulators is nebulous."

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