I was thrilled to read that George Saunders and I have something in common - a great appreciation of Russian literature. In this book, he “takes apart” the essence of seven significant Russian short stories as we learn what makes these particular stories stand out, techniques for writing a compelling short story how to evaluate them. Oh, to be fortunate enough learn from this master. I would love to see more of these literature explorations in the future.

Suppose you find yourself in the mood to read some good short stories. Let’s also say that you have a particular interest in reading the fiction of some of the great Russian masters. However, one thing that has always troubled you when you tried to satisfy such an urge in the past is that, despite enjoying the stories, you could not figure out exactly <i>why</i> they are considered to be so great. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a knowledgeable friend available to help you understand the subtleties of such things as character development, narrative construction, plot escalation, and the like? And wouldn’t also be great if that person was always good-natured, witty, and insightful, without a trace of the hubris that sometimes goes with the territory? If so, <i>A Swim in a Pond in the Rain</i> by George Saunders is the perfect book for you.

In addition to being a first-rate author himself, Saunders is also a professor in a top MFA program where, among other things, he teaches a course in Russian literature. That is important to understand because his goal with this volume is essentially to transcribe his lectures and classroom discussions onto the written page. The result is a spectacular success which, as a teacher myself, I can attest to being <i>very</i> hard to do. The basic structure of the book is fairly straightforward, being divided into chapters focusing on seven iconic short stories—three by Anton Chekhov, two by Leo Tolstoy, and one each by Ivan Turgenev and Nikolai Gogol. Along with a translated version of the story, each chapter also includes Saunders’ critical analysis of what makes it work so well, as well as an “Afterthought” in which he discusses crucial aspects of the writer’s process, including his own (Revise! Revise! Revise!).

If that sounds too much like a textbook, be assured that it really is not. At the heart of the book, of course, are the seven wonderful stories themselves. Saunders’ analyses, while sometimes more involved than seemed warranted, are always accessible, perceptive, and illuminating. He has thought deeply about this topic and he is clearly a fan of the genre, which shows through on every page. (By the way, I had read three of the stories already—or thought I had until I reread them with Saunders as a guide!) Also, while I am unlikely to ever try producing my own short fiction, I still found the author’s many digressions on the craft of creating compelling stories to be very interesting; if nothing else, knowing how hard to writers have to work to make a tale come to life will make me a better reader in the future. <i>A Swim in a Pond in the Rain</i> was a very satisfying experience and it is a volume that should be essential for budding writers and seasoned readers alike.

This was an incredible read. I've read many books of this sort, but nothing came as close to replicating the classroom experience. Highly recommended.

This is an incredible resource if you're looking to improve your fiction writing. I, unfortunately, didn't realize how deep it would lean into that exact purpose. I was expecting something more along the lines of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott or On Writing by Stephen King, which is one hundred percent a "me" problem vs. any issue with this book. So for someone who is even remotely interested in diving into how the prestige literature sausage is made (whether it be for fandom or their own writing practice), it's a dream. Otherwise, probably skip.

When I was in university, many years ago, I took a creative writing course. It was a small group of want to be writers who would sit around a table once a week and hash out one another's stories. A few times our professors (there were two of them) would bring in a story and we'd analyze it for how it worked. The remainder of my courses towards an English degree were literature study. Within which we would read a novel, analyze it from a particular perspective (deconstruction, feminist, &c.) or theory and then move onto the next book. It was rare that these classes helped me become a better writer. And it was rare, as well, that the creative writing class helped me better understand literature.
What George Saunders has done in A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is to take these two halves of a whole and put them together. The ways in which he analyzes and adores these stories brings life to them and his analysis. He jumps off from each of these stories to not only say why they work, but what the technique involved is, and how he attempts to achieve the same level of artistry in his writing. Which then leaves the reader with a complete analysis of a story, a structure, and a technique for getting there.
This, in many ways, for a writer is a better education than a degree in literature. At least the way I had it. Which takes nothing away from my own education. I learned a lot during those years. But I was never able to apply what I learned to MY writing.
This book would be excellent for anyone wishing to think about literature AND writing AND creativity. All three together. Any writer would do well to read and re-read this book. It's an absolute master's class in story, technique, and composition brought to us by one of our greatest contemporary authors.

Thank you to Random House and herbal let for a copy of this book.

George Saunders, award winning author and professor at Syracuse University, latest work is a study of Russian short stories and what he feels makes them so worthy of study. In addition its also about Saunders' style, how he came to writing, how he adapted and changed what he wrote, not really a how-to but more of a how it works for him. Saunders breaks down the Russian stories, look at this, imagine if instead we wrote that, why is this important, which is something I might try to carry over into all my reading. At the end I wished I could take this class or any class that Saunders taught. This book is not just for Russian scholars, but for anyone who wants to understand why certain tales touch you deeper, and how just a simple use of one word can carry such resonance.

The class I’ve always wanted to take but have never been able to take. This is just like sitting in on the class that Saunders teaches. Plenty of commentary and thoughtful provocation but no demands of the reader or bossy statements about what the authors of the short stories clearly were saying (I can’t stand that behavior, how do you know what they were thinking?) but lots of “Well maybe...” statements that help the reader along on this digestion route.

Basically that’s what this course is, a probiotic that helps with the specific digesting of certain Russian short stories. Sure you can read and understand these stories without the accompaniment of this book, but the course here eases some of the process and gently allows the stories to pass through your system. What a weird thing to say, I can’t believe I just typed that so I’ve decided to leave it.

Thanks for this book, it’s made my year.

Ask the right questions while reading and you will discover more from the writing. I learned how to read fiction again thanks to George Saunders.

Apparently, in addition to writing some of my favourite long and short fiction, George Saunders is an Assistant Professor in Syracuse University’s Creative Writing Program, and one of the classes he teaches to the MFA students is on the Russian short story. Reading A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is like sitting in on this class as Saunders dissects seven of his favourite (or, at any rate, illustrative of some point) 19th century stories from Russian authors (three from Chekhov, two from Tolstoy, one each from Gogol and Turgenev), and not only does he explain the methods behind the writing of such precisely-constructed stories, but Saunders also illustrates how to read and recognise the craft in them. The tone is knowledgeable but casual — Saunders invites his students and readers to disagree with him (to employ their own Hemingwayesque “shit detectors” and trust their own tastes) — and I ended this book feeling both educated and entertained; it receives my highest recommendation.

Originally published at The Best Freking Book Blog.

Learning from the Russian masters

I love George Saunders. He’s truly a master of the short story. Tenth of December is one of my biggest influences in my writing. And you all know how much I love Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders is definitely at the top of his craft, so when I saw this book that was billed as a masterclass in short story writing, I was in. SO IN.

AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain features seven different short stories written by Russian writers: “In the Cart”, “The Darling”, and “Gooseberries” by Anton Chekhov; “The Singers” by Ivan Turgenev; “Master and Man” and “Alyosha the Pot” by Leo Tolstoy; and “The Nose” by Nikolai Gogol. After each story, Saunders gives his thoughts and notes on the previous story. That’s really all there is to the book.

Not that that is a bad thing.

Saunders’ energy and passion for them is clearly evident. He uses these stories in his Masters level class about short story writing (sidebar: How awesome would it be to take a class from George Saunders??). He peppers in stories from his classes, discussions they had, observations, all that stuff. The stories are excellent. However, I found myself enjoying Saunders’ writing more than the actual short stories. But, let’s be honest, I didn’t pick this up to read dead white guys.

I picked this up to read one alive white guy.

The first section is probably my favorite. Saunders does an exercise that he does with his students where he only lets them read one page at a time and they discuss it in length before moving onto the next one. It’s a really cool way to breakdown a story and you really get a lot out of it by doing it that way.

Overall, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a really meaty read with lots of insight from a master of writing. I highly recommend this for aspiring writers, especially short story writers who may have had issues getting published. There’s a lot of great information about how to push your story to the next level. 5/5, 10/10

Thanks again to NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy from my favorite author! Make sure you pick this up on January 12, 2021.

My thanks to NetGalley and Randon House for the ARC ebook of this title.
A great book for the current lock down - like taking a class at home! And, from a master of the short story himself.
Nice in that you can dip into it by chapter, and read his stunning insights while you read the original work. I do need to share that I have just read 2 of the chapters so far. But I am a lover of Russian Lit, and I know I will love the rest of the book as much as I have so far.
My only complaint - no Pushkin!

Posted on Goodreads, and my facebook page.
Amazon will not let me post a review yet, with a late January 2021 release date.

George Saunders, author of prize-winning story collections as well as the Man Booker Prize novel Lincoln in the Bardo, is a professor at Syracuse University where he teaches a class in 19th century Russian short stories – Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, Gogol, and Gorky. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain grew out of this course, and now it’s your chance to sit in, read the stories, and follow Saunders’s commentary, questions, and multiple “Afterthoughts.” You’re also offered a chance to try your hand at some exercises: cutting, escalating, evaluating translations (even if you speak not a word of Russian). It’s a friendly, cheerful, breezy tour through some iconic literature you may have not felt up to tackling, and if you love Russian literature already, this will enlighten and entertain you.
He starts out gently: doling out Chekhov’s “In the Cart” in two-page doses, asking questions along the way: What did you notice? What did it make you think of? Why do you think he put that in there? By the end, a simple little story of an errand into town has become a microcosm of an ordinary woman’s whole life. Subsequent stories are poured out in full measure, followed by Saunders’s musings, observations, and always, always questions. He offers not just explications of the stories themselves but of the writing process: how did these writers come up with these ideas, these images, these plots, and why might they have arranged these sentences the way they did? The course is geared toward aspiring writers, who are a very select bunch from a large pool of applicants, so these “technical” issues are key to the discussions, as illustrated by these masters. But it’s George Saunders: he’s funny, he’s irreverent, he demystifies: “We can reduce all of writing to this: we read a line, have a reaction to it, trust (accept) that reaction, and do something in response (instantaneously) by intuition. That’s it. Over and over.” Or: “You don’t need an idea to start a story, you just need a sentence.” Of course it’s not that simple. I seriously doubt that when Chekhov sat down to write “The Darling” he just scribbled out a sentence and kept going. If we can see the developing pattern, surely Chekhov could too – he was too damn good and knew his tools too well not to. But Saunders is also big on revision: that first sentence can always be better, tighter, more vivid – and most of all, it needs to cause something, to go somewhere: “Who cares if the first draft is good? It doesn’t need to be good, it just needs to be, so you can revise it.” He observes: “Many young writers start out with the idea that a story is a place to express their views… they understand the story as a delivery system for their ideas… but, as a technical matter, fiction doesn’t support polemic very well.” In the end, he asserts, what fiction does is to “[cause] an incremental change in the state of a mind… that’s it… that change is finite but real. And that’s not nothing. It’s not everything, but it’s not nothing.”
And if you don’t always agree with his approach, he’s fine with that. After I finished grumbling a little about a few of his pronouncements, I forgave him instantly for this: ““That feeling of disagreeing with me was your artistic will asserting itself.” A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a delightful opportunity to explore seven terrific stories (well, maybe six… I never will “get” Gogol), and have your writing mind juiced along the way by a most pleasant and excellent guide.

This book provides you the amazing opportunity to have the incredible George Saunders teach you about writing. Rarely do I feel lucky to read a book, but II never thought I'd have access to something like this.

As amazing as Saunders is as a writer, he's an equally gifted teacher. In this book he shares some of his favorite Russian short stories and then gives you the thoughts he has on them that he normally shares with his college writing students.

This book works on two levels. For anyone who enjoy literature, Saunders shows you how to think deeply about a story. How to explore and find layers you may have missed. For writers, Saunders also shows you how these stories are constructed.

To be a good writer, you must first be a good reader and Saunders does an amazing job showing you how these two are related. Big picture--if you're on this site, you like literature and if you do, you're going to want to read this book!

I enjoyed reading this book. Great choice of Russian short stories. Great insights of what the authors were attempting and techniques.
Also good backstories of the authors. I could have done without the gratuitous swear words (written by George), and a few of his analogies were weird, and highly specific to him, less relatable to "the average Joe". Thanks to netgalley for a sneak peak read of this book! It was a read that was worth my time.