I had to go in and do the work of toning [invented "historical" bits] down in order to make them fit [in… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
In a story, for example, you'll start off with a character who is a little bit of a cartoon. That's not satisfying… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I always cheerfully say, "Well, you know, the species is adapting, and whatever it needs to do, it'll do," but I do… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
All storytelling is kind of that - there's a bit of text that you put pressure on that spits out some desire… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
You go to the marketplace and there are seventeen consciousnesses moving in and out. Sometimes you want the same shirt that I… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
When I'm not writing, I tend to get depressed and a little bit surly. And then when I'm writing, suddenly I feel… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
The switch that I'd like to throw on is the one that says, "Look, you're a human being whose mind is every… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I think about how I conceptualize the audience. The trick is that they've got to be smarter and more worldly than me.… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I'm very happy - if I can do even a little bit of work to get the short story out more, I'm… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I have this tendency to take a little bit of questionable knowledge and riff on it. — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Ralph Kramden, as played by Jackie Gleason, was this big bumbling New York City bus driver who was kind of mean and… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I think this is the other big issue that is not going away: Do we really believe that bit in the Constitution… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
There was one sequence of days [making Lincoln in the Bardo] when I had halfway decided to use the historical nuggets, but… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Later, I went one step further, by putting in some invented "historical" bits [into the Lincoln in the Bardo]. And reading those… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
[Reading Swing Time] made me a feel a little bit like when I used to read David [Foster] Wallace. Like, "I can't… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
I have a lot of theories about the beneficial effects of fiction, but I'm always trying to get away from them a… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life. — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish. — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy… — George Saunders Copy Share Image
![“[Reading Swing Time] made me a feel a little bit…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3c0/george-saunders-317_bits_reading-swing-time-made-me-a-feel-a-litt_3144845.jpg)
