George Saunders Quotes

When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you. What I want is to have the reader come out just 6 percent more awake to the world. - George Saunders

When I write I know that I'm going to have to produce 40 percent more than I need. - George Saunders

When I was a kid, I took 'The Brady Bunch' and 'The Partridge Family' very seriously. It was a world to me in the same way that the Greek myths would have been had I read them. You know, Marcia is Athena and Mr. Brady is Zeus. - George Saunders

What a powerful thing to know: That one's own desires are mappable onto strangers; that what one finds in oneself will most certainly be found in The Other. - George Saunders

We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish. - George Saunders

We have that illusion that we are 'deciding' what to make a character do, in order to 'convey our message' or something like that. But, at least in my experience, you are often more like a river-rafting guide who's been paid a bonus to purposely steer your clients into the roughest possible water. - George Saunders

We had a chance to go to Mississippi or Alabama, but we decided to come here. We want to be not only a blessing, but to make a difference, even if it's in the life of only one of the 300 children. - George Saunders

To me, the writer's main job is to just make the story unscroll in such a way that the reader is snared - she's right there, seeing things happen and caring about them. And if you dedicate yourself to this job, the meanings more or less take care of themselves. That's the theory, anyway. - George Saunders

There might be a different model for a literary community that's quicker, more real-time, and involves more spontaneity. - George Saunders

The word 'funny' is a bit like the word 'love' - we don't have enough words to describe the many varieties. - George Saunders

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