--- title: "4 Flawed Quotes By George Saunders" description: "4 Flawed quotes by George Saunders. Plus more from George Saunders and more Flawed sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/george-saunders-317_books_i-was-thinking-the-other-day-about-the-i_479452.jpg" --- > [“I was thinking the other day about the idea that you have a reader and a writer, and they’re different and they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-was-thinking-the-other-day-about-the-idea-that-you-have-a-reader/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/george-saunders-317_books_i-was-thinking-the-other-day-about-the-i_479452.jpg) > [I have a sense that God is unfair and preferentially punishes his weak, his dumb, his fat, his lazy. I believe he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-have-a-sense-that-god-is-unfair-and-preferentially-punishes-his/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ca/george-saunders-317_attributes_i-have-a-sense-that-god-is-unfair-and-pr_1313842.jpg) > [There are some things fundamentally off about the stance of the book. And maybe that's okay; maybe every book is flawed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/there-are-some-things-fundamentally-off-about-the-stance-of-the-book/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/george-saunders-317_agreement_there-are-some-things-fundamentally-off_1518523.jpg) > [ \[In the moment of reading writer and reader\] are both briefly their best selves, or at least better selves. A flawed human… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-the-moment-of-reading-writer-and-reader-are-both-briefly-their/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/george-saunders-317_best-self_in-the-moment-of-reading-writer-and-read_1635082.jpg) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flawed/george-saunders/#itemlist", "name": "4 Flawed Quotes By George Saunders", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I was thinking the other day about the idea that you have a reader and a writer, and they’re different and they’re flawed and they’re fucked-up, each in their own way.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Saunders" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-was-thinking-the-other-day-about-the-idea-that-you-have-a-reader/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/george-saunders-317_books_i-was-thinking-the-other-day-about-the-i_479452.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/george-saunders-317_books_i-was-thinking-the-other-day-about-the-i_479452.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/george-saunders-317_books_i-was-thinking-the-other-day-about-the-i_479452.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was thinking the other day about the idea that you have a reader and a writer, and they’re different and…” — George Saunders", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have a sense that God is unfair and preferentially punishes his weak, his dumb, his fat, his lazy. I believe he takes more pleasure in his perfect creatures, and cheers them on like a brainless dad as they run roughshod over the rest of us. He gives us a need for love, and no way to get any. He gives us a desire to be liked, and personal attributes that make us utterly unlikable. 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