Book: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

I finished reading “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain” for the first time.  The book is now tabbed with a dozen or so notecards inserted in the pages and filled with quotes and thoughts. George Saunders provides his exploration of reading and writing fiction taken from a class he has taught for more than 20 years where we read some of the best stories from the most beautiful era of Russian writers.  Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, and Gogol become teachers because of Saunders own writing style that makes them accessible and conveys the sense that you just might be able to write in your own voice.  The book is a medium for Saunders to convey his joy for both reading and writing.  It is not really a how to book, but an encouragement for writers to be themselves.

The only real how-to-itness in the book was the understanding of revision as a necessity. It is more than 90% of the art; much like revision is important in life if we are to grow.  While Saunders did not say it overtly, putting constraints on yourself, on the length, the words, will force you to make choices that make for a better story.  In a weird way, this book framed fiction in a way that reminded me of entrepreneurship and the creation of a new reality. Fiction causes change in state of mind. It is a reminder that everything remains to be seen. My favorite quote before I delve into a second reading this weekend is this: “These days it’s easy to feel that we’ve fallen out of connection with one another, and with the earth and with reason and with love. I mean we have. But to read, to write, is to say that we still believe in at least the possibility of connection.”