A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
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A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
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By:
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George Saunders
About this listen
Bloomsbury presents A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders, read by George Saunders, Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, Glenn Close, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, BD Wong and Renée Elise Goldsberry.
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
PICKED BY THE SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN, INDEPENDENT, IRISH TIMES, SPECTATOR, TLS, NEW STATESMAN AND EVENING STANDARD AS A BOOK OF 2021
'A masterclass from a warm and engagingly enthusiastic companion' Guardian Summer Reading Picks 2021
‘This book is a delight, and it’s about delight too. How necessary, at our particular moment’ Tessa Hadley
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From the New York Times-bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves – and our world today.
For the last twenty years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it’s more relevant than ever in these turbulent times.
In his introduction, Saunders writes, “We’re going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn’t fully endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art—namely, to ask the big questions, questions like, How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?” He approaches the 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. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity.
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 George Saunders (P)2021 Penguin Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"George Saunders makes you feel as though you are listening fiction for the first time." (Khaled Hosseini)
"What warm, kindhearted and radical writing. Such delicacy, such serious wit. I love it." (Max Porter)
What listeners say about A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Julia Churchley
- 05-09-22
totally wonderful listening experience
Just loved every minute with this audiobook. (So glad I listened as I did not enjoy Lincoln in the Bardo). I m sure the book is good but listening to Saunders warm voice delivering his lectures about writing, and reading, interspersed with a questioning analysis of various Russian short stories was captivating and so enjoyable. Inbetween lectures the short stories were read by various actors and these were exceptionally well done, as well as making the lectures more digestible. This is one I expect to listen to again, as well as return to some Chekhov and Tolstoy
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- jenny sanders
- 28-04-21
fabulous, fabulous, fabulous!
Absolutely fascinating, engaging. illuminating, witty, insightful, thought provoking, masterful... just brilliant.
Best listen this year!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Martha Henriques
- 16-04-21
Gorgeous
An excellent book on the craft of writing, and why it matters. An incredibly thoughtful, practical and inspiring book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Spinoza66
- 08-01-23
Opens the door…
…to the beauty and mystery of russian short stories (and really to all good short stories). The book in itself is a masterpiece.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Papergirl
- 14-12-21
Accessible critical thinking for the art of storymaking
The first chapter alone of this book is worth the price of the ticket. Saunders brings the subconscious reader/writer process to the surface and very genially unbundles what goes on when we try to make or interpret a successful story (or in fact any creative work). Phylicia Rashad’s reading of Chekhov’s ‘In the Cart’ is superb (hence the five performance stars).
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 31-01-22
Extraordinary!
Chekhov, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoyevsky ... they all "came out of Gogol's 'Overcoat." The capacity to influence the future writers and enlighten future readers clearly belongs to George Saunders, too. I thank him for that every time when I return to the text he is analysing, eager to discover what I missed at the first, and second, and third ... reading.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Gule
- 28-11-21
Inspirational!
Reminded of just how great Russian 19th century literature was! George Saunders’ analysis adds a new dimension and inspiration to read again. Warmly recommend!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Charlotte Wright
- 28-12-21
Wonderful wonderful book
I hadn't read any George Saunders previously but was hooked in by the concept of this: Saunders effectively gives you, for the price of an audible credit, part of his renowned creative writing class. I'm sure it's wonderful in print too, but I'd recommend it on audio because George reads it, so it is as close as I'll ever get to actually being in his class.
The book is 7 stories by 4 Russian Greats, interspersed with commentary by Saunders. In the first one he interrupts the story to explain things, then the other stories just play in full (read by actors) then he explains how they work afterwards. So you're getting two things for the price of one - seven great stories plus a wonderful writer helps you understand them.
Probably my favourite audiobook to date.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- I ain't givin' you no name
- 05-11-21
A Master Class
I was unfamiliar with the 7 Russian Classic short stories that Saunders uses to discuss the form. They feel like a good and broad sample of the form, but for me they only truly came to life with the tour guide narration. This is a brilliant book for anyone who enjoys the short story form , but it is particularly enriching for wannabe writers.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Tom
- 16-02-21
This has to be a 4.5 to 5 star book.
What a lovely unique book. I didn’t know much about these 4 Russians which is partly why I went for this one. I’m glad I did as it’s been a great introduction to them and I will now read more of them. I love George Saunders take on life and this is also a great personal development book as long as you’re not too pompous to see it as such. The audiobook is superbly narrated with a brilliant cast. For me Keith David was sublime. I’ll be doing a YouTube review by the end of the week
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