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Berengaria's Reviews > Pastoralia
Pastoralia
by
by
3.8 stars
short review for busy readers: The second short story collection by George Saunders, author of Booker winner Lincoln in the Bardo. Genuinely hilarious for the most part, often dealing with men's (inaccurate) view of themselves. Excellent bold narrative voice that convinces -- but since all the stories have it, it grows a bit old towards the end, even if enjoyable. This seems to be Saunder's normal style.
in detail:
Individual breakdown of the stories:
� PASTORALIA � (4.5 stars) A fabulous story about taking your job and co-workers seriously featuring two actors who play cave people at a cut-rate amusement park, now under new management. Very funny!
� WINKY � (3 stars) Spoof on self-help gurus and how our nearest and dearest can irritate the bejeezus out of us. Starts well but the too abrupt end ruins it.
� SEA OAK � (5 stars) Best of show! A funny horror story of the meek failing to inherit the earth and coming back as a vengeful fury. It's not auntie who's the horror show, it's the family and they're going to change pronto if dead auntie has anything to do with it!
� The End of FIRPO IN THE WORLD �(4 stars) Does God really love screw ups? Hopefully, because this boy's parents sure don't. A boy falsely estimates himself and is falsely estimated by others.
� The BARBER’S UNHAPPINESS � (2.5) Way too long and again with the guy who thinks he's great and isn't. Ha. Ha. Worst of show.
� THE FALLS � (4 stars) Two very different men struggle with their view of greatness. Only one of them really is -- and he's the guy who doubts he ever could be. An odd choice in the pairing but effective.
short review for busy readers: The second short story collection by George Saunders, author of Booker winner Lincoln in the Bardo. Genuinely hilarious for the most part, often dealing with men's (inaccurate) view of themselves. Excellent bold narrative voice that convinces -- but since all the stories have it, it grows a bit old towards the end, even if enjoyable. This seems to be Saunder's normal style.
in detail:
Individual breakdown of the stories:
� PASTORALIA � (4.5 stars) A fabulous story about taking your job and co-workers seriously featuring two actors who play cave people at a cut-rate amusement park, now under new management. Very funny!
� WINKY � (3 stars) Spoof on self-help gurus and how our nearest and dearest can irritate the bejeezus out of us. Starts well but the too abrupt end ruins it.
� SEA OAK � (5 stars) Best of show! A funny horror story of the meek failing to inherit the earth and coming back as a vengeful fury. It's not auntie who's the horror show, it's the family and they're going to change pronto if dead auntie has anything to do with it!
� The End of FIRPO IN THE WORLD �(4 stars) Does God really love screw ups? Hopefully, because this boy's parents sure don't. A boy falsely estimates himself and is falsely estimated by others.
� The BARBER’S UNHAPPINESS � (2.5) Way too long and again with the guy who thinks he's great and isn't. Ha. Ha. Worst of show.
� THE FALLS � (4 stars) Two very different men struggle with their view of greatness. Only one of them really is -- and he's the guy who doubts he ever could be. An odd choice in the pairing but effective.
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Reading Progress
August 22, 2024
– Shelved
September 12, 2024
–
Started Reading
September 13, 2024
–
36.54%
"Oh man, the 1st story about the amusement park cavepeople actors had me laughing out loud several times.
"from the direction of Pioneer Encampment I hear the sound of rushing water... they open up the Reserve Tanks, the river widens and soon some detachable house parts and Pioneer wagons equipped with inflatable bladders float by, while from their P.A. we hear the sound of prerecorded screaming Settlers."🤣"
page
76
"from the direction of Pioneer Encampment I hear the sound of rushing water... they open up the Reserve Tanks, the river widens and soon some detachable house parts and Pioneer wagons equipped with inflatable bladders float by, while from their P.A. we hear the sound of prerecorded screaming Settlers."🤣"
September 15, 2024
–
67.31%
"I did not expect to laugh my ass off when I started this collection, but, oh man...this is hilarious! If you like bold, somewhat strange humour this is the one for you!"
page
140
September 19, 2024
–
Finished Reading
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Rowan
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Sep 19, 2024 11:02PM
Excellent review, Berengaria 😊 I must finally get around to reading some of George Saunders' short story collections, as I've always heard good things.
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Even I've not heard of his short story collections, though I do know of Lincoln in the Bardo. Adding! Thanks, B!
Rowan wrote: "Excellent review, Berengaria 😊 I must finally get around to reading some of George Saunders' short story collections, as I've always heard good things."He has several to choose from! Looks like he's more a short story writer than a novelist.
You read it! Sea Oak was best in show for me, too. But my worst was The Falls - really didn't like it. And you know what's weird? I think of that little boy on his bike (I forget which story - Firpo?) at least once a week. That story hit me hard, even though it was sooo short!Loved reading your thoughtful, even-handed review, BB.
Great review, Berengaria. Your comment about how the similarities of the stories felt old by the end struck home with me. I think this is why although I often enjoy individual short stories, I rarely pick up collections.
Rosh wrote: "Even I've not heard of his short story collections, though I do know of Lincoln in the Bardo. Adding! Thanks, B!"He has several, surprisingly enough! I really enjoyed "Bardo" so decided to try his shorts. This was his very first one - first publication perhaps, too -- so the style of more recent collections might be different (or not).
Excellent review, Berengaria! I've never been able to develop a fondness for short stories, though I wish I had.
Sarah wrote: "You read it! Sea Oak was best in show for me, too. But my worst was The Falls - really didn't like it. And you know what's weird? I think of that little boy on his bike (I forget which story - Firp..."I did read it! 😄 Also his Bardo and another short called Fox 8 just recently. Enjoyed all of them very much.
FIRPO, huh? I could see that. There is that message of redemption at the end by the guy that hit him. Like, "sorry for the death and all, but Jesus loves you, okay?" Isn't that a lot like some of those guys you grew up with? They did any amount of harm, but Jesus will somehow kiss it all better, so it's not so bad?
The Falls is an odd one, isn't it? Much more literary-vague. I appreciated that the arrogant sod ended up in a dead end, while the worrier got his moment to shine. Not sure why Saunders chose the arrogant sod. The worrier is -- at least at this point in his writing -- a more typical character.
Check this. The awards each story got (from Wikipedia)
"Pastoralia" was an O. Henry Prize Story in 2001.
"Winky" was an O. Henry Prize Story in 1998.
"Sea Oak" was an O. Henry Prize Story in 1999. It was nominated for the 1999 Bram Stoker Award. It was also reprinted in Feeling Very Strange: The Slipstream Anthology; it was also reprinted in American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from the 1940s to Now.
"The Falls" was an O. Henry Prize Story in 1997.
Great review. Had not heard of it and thought it must be a new release but publish date 2000? Do I have that right?
Barbara K. wrote: "Great review, Berengaria. Your comment about how the similarities of the stories felt old by the end struck home with me. I think this is why although I often enjoy individual short stories, I rare..."I know what you mean!
One of Kurt Vonnegut's rules for writing is "sound like yourself". That's great to develop some uniqueness, but some people sound SO MUCH like themselves, that it's as if they're always handing the mike to the exact same narrator or are writing the same story again and again, with only slight variations.
Kerry wrote: "Great review. Had not heard of it and thought it must be a new release but publish date 2000? Do I have that right?"Hi Kerry, you do! This was his 2nd collection, published in 2000.
In order, his collections go...
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996) (short stories and a novella)
Pastoralia (2000) (short stories and a novella)
In Persuasion Nation (2006) (short stories)
Tenth of December: Stories (2013) (short stories)
Liberation Day: Stories (2022) (short stories)
Jodi wrote: "Excellent review, Berengaria! I've never been able to develop a fondness for short stories, though I wish I had."Oh, that's too bad. They're good for palate cleansers and "snacks"...and they're short, so you can enjoy a number fairly quickly! 🏎️🏎️🏎� At least, that's mainly what I read them for. 😉
Berengaria wrote: "Jodi wrote: "Excellent review, Berengaria! I've never been able to develop a fondness for short stories, though I wish I had."Oh, that's too bad. They're good for palate cleansers and "snacks"......"
I loved the idea of using them as a "palate cleanser", so I tried reading a bunch of Alice Munro SSs just after her death. They were very good, of course, but when I read I need something I can get my teeth into, so to speak.🍴
This seems like quite a strong collection of short stories overall, with some very unique premises. I'm going to keep an eye out for this one. Excellent review!
