August 27, 2004
The Big Picture
I linked to George Saunders' latest piece for Slate yesterday from my homeblog, but I guess I'm just lucky that I get to link to it twice. Saunders — who, for my money, is the best short story writer going — is to be admired for his recent pieces about the war and other Bush administration policies, not least of all because they're hilarious and poignant. (Which I take to be the major stength of Saunders' deft style, cf. "The Falls" in Pastoralia.) He is also to be admired for rising above punditry, which has tempted many into cynical, ego-feeding polemics. (Yes, I'm looking at you, Hitch.) Who knew that the author's detached, playful tone — with its mix of absurdity and humanity — would be the perfect antidote for a situtation that is at once absurd and inhumane? For those who think — and I have thought this — that it's time to overcome obliqueness and get down to some straight talk, Saunders shows the way.
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