"Tenth of December", by George Saunders

Short stories, 2013

Short story collection of surprising and stylishly varied content. Some of the pieces are absolutely captivating and hugely thought provoking - others a little less so. Overall, there's a high standard,
with society scrutinised and human frailties writ large. "The Semplica Girls" and "Escape from Spiderland" are particularly effective in showing how much of a veneer human relations can present and how easily they can fall apart and expose societal norms. When this packs a punch, it really packs a punch.