A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

An examination of storytelling via classic Russian short stories.By George SaundersRating: 4 / 5.This was recommended by the teacher of a local comedy writing class, and I can see why. The book contains short stories Saunders has taught for a long time: Anton Chekhov’s “In the Cart,” “The Darling,” and “Gooseberries.” Ivan Turgenev’s “The Singers.” Leo Tolstoy’s “Master and Man” and “Alyosha the Pot.” Nikolai Gogol’s “The Nose.” He follows each one with deep commentary on seemingly every aspect of storytelling, each successive story illustrating different choices or new ideas. I felt a little sheepish that most of the stories felt a bit plain and sometimes boring, but I perked up every time with Saunders’ sparkling and thought-provoking commentary. I imagine he would have been the best kind of college professor, gently revealing all sorts of things I’d missed and encouraging me to see for myself and assign too much importance to his perspective. The book left me thinking about…