Tenth of December
George Saunders's fourth story collection gathers ten stories from 2009 through 2012, most of them originally published in The New Yorker, that together map the particular ache of middle-class American life under low-grade economic pressure and rented-out optimism. In Escape from Spiderhead, a prisoner in a pharmaceutical trial is asked to administer love-and-hate chemicals to another participant. In The Semplica Girl Diaries, a suburban father narrates, in the self-help cadence of a morning journal, the purchase and installation of the decorative impoverished immigrant women then fashionable as lawn ornaments. In the title story, a bullied, overweight boy and a terminally ill adult cross paths in a frozen Midwestern park. Published in 2013, Tenth of December is Saunders's most widely read collection.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Tenth of December
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
George Saunders's prize-winning collection of ten stories includes a chemical mood-altering experiment in a corporate prison, a working-class veteran trying to keep dignity for his family, and a snowy day rescue of a sick man.
Yes. Tenth of December won the inaugural Folio Prize in 2014 and was a finalist for the National Book Award. George Saunders later won the 2017 Booker Prize for Lincoln in the Bardo.
Yes. Tenth of December is George Saunders's 2013 collection of ten short stories. It is widely considered one of the great American short story collections of the 21st century.
Tenth of December was written by George Saunders, published in 2012 by Random House.
Tenth of December is 279 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Tenth of December takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
Tenth of December is a standalone novel by George Saunders, not part of a series.
Tenth of December is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.