Liberation Day

Stories

By: George Saunders

Narrated by: George Saunders, Tina Fey, Michael McKean, Edi Patterson, Jenny Slate, Jack McBrayer, Melora Hardin, Stephen Root

MacArthur "genius" and Booker Prize winner George Saunders returns with a collection of short stories that make sense of our increasingly troubled world, his first since the New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist Tenth of December

The “best short story writer in English” (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose—wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned—Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality.

“Love Letter” is a tender missive from grandfather to grandson, in the midst of a dystopian political situation in the not-too-distant future, that reminds us of our obligations to our ideals, ourselves, and each other. “Ghoul” is set in a Hell-themed section of an underground amusement park in Colorado, and follows the exploits of a lonely, morally complex character named Brian, who comes to question everything he takes for granted about his “reality.” In “Mother’s Day,” two women who loved the same man come to an existential reckoning in the middle of a hailstorm. And in “Elliott Spencer,” our eighty-nine-year-old protagonist finds himself brainwashed—his memory “scraped”—a victim of a scheme in which poor, vulnerable people are reprogrammed and deployed as political protesters.

Together, these nine subversive, profound, and essential stories coalesce into a case for viewing the world with the same generosity and clear-eyed attention as Saunders does, even in the most absurd of circumstances.

Cover painting: René Magritte, Man in a Bowler Hat, 1964 (detail), © 2022 C. Herscovici/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

©2022 George Saunders (P)2022 Random House Audio

Stunning Performances

Superbly original writing and storytelling. Stunning performances by the whole cast. Thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook.

Absolutely Brilliant!

George Saunders is at his best, and the performances are the best I've heard in the hundreds of Audible books I've listened to. I would rarely recommend listening to a book over reading it, but this is one of those books. Worth the price of the book just to hear Tina Fey narrate "The Mom of Bold Action".

Go George Go

This collection of stories from the day after tomorrow assails the senses and hangs you out to dry, so rich the fecund earth life
springs from. The glorious music that bookends, by Caroline Shaw, is the sound that The Speakers create as they recreate the Past, the horrific, racist, murderous Past of US. It’s all here, the hate and soulless stupidity of digital tech and the glimmers of light of life as the world falls apart and rots around our ears. The spell it casts will nag me forever. The moon takes over the sky. Go back, live under the bridge in a hailstorm. Make love or die. And die. And make love. Go George go

Spectacular storytelling

A literary autopsy of post-modern U.S, and Saunders does not allow you to look away from the horror, the absurdity, the humor, or ourselves. Not a light read, but an outstanding read. Listened on Audible and it was perfect. This collection will stay with me for quite some time.

Excellent read

It’s been a long time since I’ve had so many short stories grab me and punch me in the gut, all in a row. Bravo.

All-Star Cast Captures Saunders' Magic

Liberation Day is a masterful collection of short stories by one of my favorite authors. Each story is a weird gem, a seductive puzzle, a captured moment of humanity. The audiobook adds even more goodness to the mix. The narrators of Liberation Day are an all-star cast: Tina Fey, Michael McKean, Edi Patterson, Jenny Slate, Jack McBrayer, Melora Hardin, and Stephen Root. From Penguin Random House Audio. Treat yourself to a fantastic literary and auditory experience

As good as it gets

I don’t have it in me to write a long review at the moment but it’s George Sanders at the top of his game and really good readers 👍

High novelty

Highly novel and unexpected and futuristic exploration of if/when things get out of hand. How one little thing can mushroom.

Wonderful Bite Size Genius!

Don’t hesitate - do it - the quality of the stories and the performances exceded my expectations.

Dense varied collection

In the end, I really enjoyed each of these stories. I had had to skip the first two, beginning my listening immediately after finishing a quieter, easier to enter audiobook, and finding the disparity between my two listens quite jarring. But listening to them out of order was not a problem. In fact, I went back and listened to a couple of the stories more than once. I do generally enjoy short story collections, and I appreciated the variation in readers in this book. Note to future listeners: the narrators for each of the stories are listed in the end credits. I had frustratedly tried to find them online while I was listening. Jump to the end credits if you want to know ahead of time.