Name: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
ISBN: 9781526624253

George Saunders

In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders guides the reader through seven classic Russian short stories he's been teaching for twenty years as a professor in the prestigious Syracuse University graduate MFA creative writing program. Paired with stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, these essays are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. Saunders approaches each of these stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. For the process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is as much a craft as it is a quality of openness and a willingness to see the world through new eyes. Funny, frank, and rigorous, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain ultimately shows how great fiction can change a person's life and become a benchmark of one's moral and ethical beliefs.

From the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

Paired with stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, these essays are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times.

In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life

“Reconsideration is hard; it takes courage. We have to deny ourselves the comfort of always being the same person, one who arrived at an answer some time ago and has never had any reason to doubt it.”

For no apparent reason, George Saunders has been coming up in videos, texts and conversations recently, even random ones before the context of a new book launch. This may have primed me so that while browsing my audiobooks for my next listen, I stumbled upon this book and instantly decided to give it a go. Turns out this was the right moment and the right way to approach A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. Saunders' voice felt comforting and enticing, managing to keep my brain engaged but soothed all throughout.

This book gives the reader a good taste of the author's lessons in Creative Writing at Syracuse, centered on Russian short stories. Each of the stories is read by a different person - all of them very well narrated - and then George Saunders analyses and comments on the story, the writing, the theme, the characters, the possible intentions and interpretations. The first story, he actually does it page by page, but if that interspersed analysis doesn´t suit you, the audiobook has a complete version of that story in the end, so you can listen to it in full before engaging with that chapter.

The stories included are In the Cart, The Darling and Gooseberries by Anton Chekhov; Master and Man and Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy; The Singers by Ivan Turgenev and The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. Saunders does use each to illustrate the authors' techniques and view them from both a potential writer and a reader point-of-view. He also has many afterthought moments, thinking of his own evolving writing and inspiring the reader to think of himself as a potential writer, as much as a more profound and accomplished reader.

In the Cart by Anton Chekhov is the first one to be read and discussed. The story follows a woman's small trip on a cart, the driver and a few quite common meetings and events, but mostly focuses on her mind, her reactions and emotions. I found it good on the initial approach and when I listened to it fully afterwards I ended up quite liking it. It is not only a good example of what to take into account when writing or thinking about a short story, it is also interesting from a character construction and presentation point of view, and should be illuminating for many other stories, lengths and themes. Saunders pulled me in with some of his comments, even if in the beginning I was often thinking he was seeing too much, building too much over what was actually written.

The Singers by Ivan Turgenev follows up. I had read "Fathers and Sons" and "Diary of a Superfluous Man" by the author before and really liked both, so I came to it with optimism. Thankfully, this story didn't disappoint. It's engaging and thought-provoking in and of itself, even if not groundbreaking. Turgenev welcomes the reader into a rural pub through the eyes and ears of a narrator-character, as he witnesses a bet between two very different persons on who is the better singer. All of the people, the owners, the singers, the arbiter, the patrons, the pub and even the surroundings are meaningful, and Saunders does make the best of it in his analysis.

The Darling by Anton Chekhov is one I can see myself undervaluing if read isolated. I'm actually glad I got to it in this context, as Saunders forced me to consider plot choices and empathize with the main character in a deeper way. In this story we follow a woman's relationships as they illustrate her personality and behaviour and drive us to considering her decisions, her transformations, her follies and suffering. Saunders had me reconsidering my opinion of her and that improved my view of the story itself.

Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy is a brilliant story packing quite the punch - unsurprising when remembering the excellence of "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch". I was really interested in the events, frustrated with character choices and surprised with some of the final choices and thoughts. Master and Man is precisely about two men, a master and his employee, as they fight through an unending snowstorm, one stubbornly, the other obediently, to try to get to a place to do some potentially profitable business for the master. Saunders' thematic analysis went where my own was going, but he also speaks very usefully about Tolstoy's own life and beliefs and how they can inform the story.

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol is as weird as expected. I had read "The Overcoat" and really liked it in its absurdity, so I was prepared for The Nose. A man loses his nose. He meets his nose and it's now a person. The man contrives to find the nose, have someone bring him the nose, blames someone, and much more. By way of this, Gogol not only illustrates a part of the Russian society, but also explores the character to great effect. This one allows Saunders to talk about a very different way to represent things in a story, familiar to those of us who've always read and respected literature in the speculative fiction genres.

Gooseberries by Anton Chekhov was, again, one that I enjoyed more from the analysis by Saunders than from the reading itself. I've read Chekhov before, but wasn't impressed by "The Lady with the Dog and other stories" and even if I liked his "My Life", I still think I should reread it to enjoy it more deeply. He is often considered a master of the short form writing, but I seem to fail to feel it more often than not. This was still a good short story and Saunders' comments were very worthy of consideration.

Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy is a great one to finish the book on. Again, I really like Tolstoy's writing, even when I'm disagreeing with some of his views, apparent or declared. Alyosha is a simple person, living obediently and contented, never rationalizing or being driven by strong emotions. Again, considering Tolstoy's life is very useful in reading this story more deeply and trying to look for possible interpretations. Saunders also illustrates here the potential problems of translations, which are bound to be even more impactful in stories with such a small amount of words and opportunity to assert their content. One change can make the reader see a completely different ending, and in the case of Alyosha the Pot, as in The Darling, that can turn out to be really impactful.  

It's obvious I'd recommend this to any readers who have any thoughts of becoming writers, but I wouldn't think of this as a classic lesson - Saunders himself wants us to find ourselves and our ways much more than learn his or Chekhov's form- but more of a prompt for a deeper analysis of works of literature, and, for that, a book I'd recommend to all who aspire to appreciate, feel with and learn from every book they read as much as possible.

I should now actually read George Saunders' fiction!

André Nóbrega

“Reconsideration is hard; it takes courage. We have to deny ourselves the comfort of always being the same person, one who arrived at an answer some time ago and has never had any reason to doubt it.”

For no apparent reason, George Saunders has been coming up in videos, texts and conversations recently, even random ones before the context of a new book launch. This may have primed me so that while browsing my audiobooks for my next listen, I stumbled upon this book and instantly decided to give it a go. Turns out this was the right moment and the right way to approach A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. Saunders' voice felt comforting and enticing, managing to keep my brain engaged but soothed all throughout.

This book gives the reader a good taste of the author's lessons in Creative Writing at Syracuse, centered on Russian short stories. Each of the stories is read by a different person - all of them very well narrated - and then George Saunders analyses and comments on the story, the writing, the theme, the characters, the possible intentions and interpretations. The first story, he actually does it page by page, but if that interspersed analysis doesn´t suit you, the audiobook has a complete version of that story in the end, so you can listen to it in full before engaging with that chapter.

The stories included are In the Cart, The Darling and Gooseberries by Anton Chekhov; Master and Man and Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy; The Singers by Ivan Turgenev and The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. Saunders does use each to illustrate the authors' techniques and view them from both a potential writer and a reader point-of-view. He also has many afterthought moments, thinking of his own evolving writing and inspiring the reader to think of himself as a potential writer, as much as a more profound and accomplished reader.

In the Cart by Anton Chekhov is the first one to be read and discussed. The story follows a woman's small trip on a cart, the driver and a few quite common meetings and events, but mostly focuses on her mind, her reactions and emotions. I found it good on the initial approach and when I listened to it fully afterwards I ended up quite liking it. It is not only a good example of what to take into account when writing or thinking about a short story, it is also interesting from a character construction and presentation point of view, and should be illuminating for many other stories, lengths and themes. Saunders pulled me in with some of his comments, even if in the beginning I was often thinking he was seeing too much, building too much over what was actually written.

The Singers by Ivan Turgenev follows up. I had read "Fathers and Sons" and "Diary of a Superfluous Man" by the author before and really liked both, so I came to it with optimism. Thankfully, this story didn't disappoint. It's engaging and thought-provoking in and of itself, even if not groundbreaking. Turgenev welcomes the reader into a rural pub through the eyes and ears of a narrator-character, as he witnesses a bet between two very different persons on who is the better singer. All of the people, the owners, the singers, the arbiter, the patrons, the pub and even the surroundings are meaningful, and Saunders does make the best of it in his analysis.

The Darling by Anton Chekhov is one I can see myself undervaluing if read isolated. I'm actually glad I got to it in this context, as Saunders forced me to consider plot choices and empathize with the main character in a deeper way. In this story we follow a woman's relationships as they illustrate her personality and behaviour and drive us to considering her decisions, her transformations, her follies and suffering. Saunders had me reconsidering my opinion of her and that improved my view of the story itself.

Master and Man by Leo Tolstoy is a brilliant story packing quite the punch - unsurprising when remembering the excellence of "The Death of Ivan Ilyitch". I was really interested in the events, frustrated with character choices and surprised with some of the final choices and thoughts. Master and Man is precisely about two men, a master and his employee, as they fight through an unending snowstorm, one stubbornly, the other obediently, to try to get to a place to do some potentially profitable business for the master. Saunders' thematic analysis went where my own was going, but he also speaks very usefully about Tolstoy's own life and beliefs and how they can inform the story.

The Nose by Nikolai Gogol is as weird as expected. I had read "The Overcoat" and really liked it in its absurdity, so I was prepared for The Nose. A man loses his nose. He meets his nose and it's now a person. The man contrives to find the nose, have someone bring him the nose, blames someone, and much more. By way of this, Gogol not only illustrates a part of the Russian society, but also explores the character to great effect. This one allows Saunders to talk about a very different way to represent things in a story, familiar to those of us who've always read and respected literature in the speculative fiction genres.

Gooseberries by Anton Chekhov was, again, one that I enjoyed more from the analysis by Saunders than from the reading itself. I've read Chekhov before, but wasn't impressed by "The Lady with the Dog and other stories" and even if I liked his "My Life", I still think I should reread it to enjoy it more deeply. He is often considered a master of the short form writing, but I seem to fail to feel it more often than not. This was still a good short story and Saunders' comments were very worthy of consideration.

Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy is a great one to finish the book on. Again, I really like Tolstoy's writing, even when I'm disagreeing with some of his views, apparent or declared. Alyosha is a simple person, living obediently and contented, never rationalizing or being driven by strong emotions. Again, considering Tolstoy's life is very useful in reading this story more deeply and trying to look for possible interpretations. Saunders also illustrates here the potential problems of translations, which are bound to be even more impactful in stories with such a small amount of words and opportunity to assert their content. One change can make the reader see a completely different ending, and in the case of Alyosha the Pot, as in The Darling, that can turn out to be really impactful.  

It's obvious I'd recommend this to any readers who have any thoughts of becoming writers, but I wouldn't think of this as a classic lesson - Saunders himself wants us to find ourselves and our ways much more than learn his or Chekhov's form- but more of a prompt for a deeper analysis of works of literature, and, for that, a book I'd recommend to all who aspire to appreciate, feel with and learn from every book they read as much as possible.

I should now actually read George Saunders' fiction!

Entirely worthwhile. About to tackle a boatload of Russian lit with this book inside Me.

Adam Scharf

maryam

not for me. short story selection 4/5, saunders’ rambling analysis that he made to seem definitive 2/5

From the Man Booker Prize-Winning, New York Times-bestselling Author of Lincoln in the Bardo

Jesse Morley

Saunders rallies against the idea that the best writing flows from the author fluidly, riding on wings of sudden inspiration. Instead he argues that the real process lies in incremental revision, and that finding your voice as an author comes from the intuition guiding these countless small changes and refinements.

The main satisfaction in reading this, for me, was gaining a greater appreciation of what it is that made these Russian masters so good at their craft.

An extremely intelligent yet generous author. This is more than a book about writing or an appreciation of Russian literature- a highlight from this year’s reading.

Sarah Erle

Great book. It made me think a lot about ways to improve my storytelling and writing skills. This and Pinker's book on writing are some of the best tools to improve the craft.

Andres Leon

Nelson Zagalo

“A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: in which four Russians give a master class on writing, reading, and life” (2021) de George Saunders é um livro sobre a arte de contar histórias, em particular sobre arte do conto, em particular do conto russo. Não é um livro sobre "como escrever histórias", é um livro que discute a arte e ofício de quem escreve e os resultados do que se escreve. Saunders não apresenta um guião, nem uma estrutura para a desconstrução dos contos, antes apresenta os mesmos completos sobre os quais realiza, depois connosco, uma leitura próxima (close reading) de certas partes que podem focar-se: na forma, no estilo, no conteúdo, na relação com a vida dos autores, ou ainda em aspetos da tradução do russo. Ler e ouvir Saunders (o audiobook é narrado pelo próprio) falar sobre escrita e contos russos é um pouco como olhar para os olhos de uma criança quando se lhe coloca um prato cheio de doces na frente. A paixão transborda, oferecendo particular deleite a todos os comentários que vai fazendo a cada um dos contos ao longo da viagem proposta que nos oferece 7 contos (3 de Chekhov (In the Cart; The Darling; Gooseberries), 2 de Tolstói (Master and Man; Alyosha the Pot), um de Gogol (The Nose), e um de Turgenev (The Singers)).

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Cindy Lieberman

If you have ever wanted to write a short story, or to be better able to appreciate one, read this excellent book by George Saunders! This accomplished writer dissects several short stories by Russian masters (Tolstoy, Chekhov, etc), enabling us to better understand some rules of story structure. Saunders also freely suggests why these writers might have made the choices they did in their stories, why those choices worked or didn’t, and what might have been done differently....then asks us to think about the effect different choices might have. Truly a masterclass in an audiobook

Bryce Taylor

Great stories, great thoughts on the stories, great insights for writing and for life. I love George Saunders.

Nadine 

A perfect book for those of us who in our hearts has never left the classroom & the desire to learn & know more on the inner workings of life & literature

Maytal

George Saunders articulates exactly why I (or any book lover, really) read, and what is so magical about fiction.

Jack Baty

I enjoy everything Saunders writes. This wasn't my usual thing, but I dug it anyway.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain From the Man Booker Prize-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Lincoln in the Bardo