Books Quotes by George Saunders
All Books quotes George Saunders’s page
A story that still lights up a part of you shows how Saunders’ books can keep old feelings alive. He writes that a writer tries to guess where the language will land for a reader, often assuming a very smart reader who can pull a lot from a little. He also sees the mind as a powerful force that shapes how we understand a text.
![“I knew if I evoked that stuff too easily or gratuitously, as a way of assuaging my fears of not being edgy or whatever, the writing would fall apart. This book [Lincoln in the Bardo] was going to have to have some earnestness in it.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/george-saunders-317_book_i-knew-if-i-evoked-that-stuff-too-easily_407342.jpg)
![“While writing this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], [idea of inclusion] occurred to me, you either believe in the Constitution or you don't. If you do, it's intense in what it wants of us.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/367/george-saunders-317_believe_while-writing-this-book-lincoln-in-the-b_2048122.jpg)
![“One of the ideas that runs through this book [Lincoln in the Bardo] is this Buddhist notion that the mind is incredibly powerful; not the brain but the mind.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6e/george-saunders-317_book_one-of-the-ideas-that-runs-through-this_98166.jpg)
![“I would say one thing writing this book [Lincoln in the Bardo] did for me was underscore the fact that this issue [all men are created equal] has never been properly addressed and it hasn't gone away.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/george-saunders-317_book_i-would-say-one-thing-writing-this-book_1522919.jpg)
![“As the writer of this book [Lincoln in the Bardo], what I loved was the feeling of having so many surprises come at the end that I hadn't really planned or planted.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/869/george-saunders-317_book_as-the-writer-of-this-book-lincoln-in-th_507145.jpg)
![“[Lincoln in the Bardo] is not a long book. And that meant I could obsess over it and live in it both backwards and forwards and hyper-control everything.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afc/george-saunders-317_backwards_lincoln-in-the-bardo-is-not-a-long-book_2176474.jpg)
![“From the beginning [of the Lincoln in the Bardo], I actually had it in mind not to write a novel. I'd kind of gotten past that point where I felt bad for never having written a novel, even to where I felt really good about it, like I was a real purist.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/843/george-saunders-317_books_from-the-beginning-of-the-lincoln-in-the_3136511.jpg)
![“The book says [Lincoln in the Bardo],"I really need this sci-fi device of a ghost inhabiting another person." You say okay kind of begrudgingly. So the structure seemed informed by need and efficiency.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/336/george-saunders-317_book_the-book-says-lincoln-in-the-bardo-i-rea_759066.jpg)
![“[In the moment of reading writer and reader] are both briefly their best selves, or at least better selves. A flawed human being writes something and 60 years later a reader picks up the book and something in them rises to meet it.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/george-saunders-317_best-self_in-the-moment-of-reading-writer-and-read_1635082.jpg)
![“The beginning [of Lincoln in the Bardo] is strange, and I did a lot of work calibrating that so that a reader with a certain level of patience would get through it and in the nick of time start to figure out what was going on. In a short book, you can do that.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f9/george-saunders-317_beginning_the-beginning-of-lincoln-in-the-bardo-is_3025267.jpg)
