JUNE 2007

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A Review of Saunders' In Persuasion Nation (2006)
By Jason Jordan, May 21, 2007
Until recently, Saunders’s fiction has hit the mark every time it’s attempted to do so.  The short story collections CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (Riverhead, 1996) and Pastoralia (2000) were great surrealist fiction entries, as was the novella The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil (Riverhead, 2005), but In Persuasion Nation (Riverhead, 2006) is a mixed bag.  A few stories work.  Most, however, do not. 

Though the adage “don’t judge a book by its cover” still applies these days, IPN’s cover art is bland, despite its relevance, and it’s difficult to muster anticipation about a book when the artwork is a turnoff.  Nonetheless, the covers of Saunders’s books – sans the reprints – have never been much to look at anyway.  Likewise, as expected, this particular collection is also filled to the brim with zany, unrealistic-yet-believable stories.  This time, unfortunately, most of them overreach, as if Saunders sat down and actually tried to make them as weird as possible, rather than letting the material flow freely.

“I Can Speak!” – a story about a company that produces talking masks for babies – adopts a letter format in which a representative addresses an unsatisfied customer.  It reads like bad David Sedaris fiction – not that Sedaris’s fiction is that good in the first place.  Later, “My Amendment” revisits Sedaris-like fiction, and fails like its predecessor.  Others such as “My Flamboyant Grandson” and “Jon” focus on consumerism taken to an extreme, but are too forgettable to make an impact.  “93990” is an animal testing commentary, and uses a large amount of formal, scientific language to get its points across.  The problem is that it’s an uninteresting chore with no likeable characters. 

Still, there are definite highlights.  “Christmas” is about a bunch of roofers who gamble away their Christmas paychecks and bonuses, which works well due to its realistic, emotional nature.  “Brad Carrigan, American” seems genuine, too, even though it is far-fetched and similar to the writing of Ryan Boudinot.  While the others – except for the overblown, annoying title story – aren’t notable, they are easier to stomach than those that came earlier.

Hopefully In Persuasion Nation is simply a misstep.  Because, up to this point, Saunders’s books have all been worthwhile reads.  Avoid this one, though.  It’s his worst.

Jason Jordan is many things. He is assistant editor and staff reviewer for this magazine. He was the host of the Bean Street Reading Series. He was an editor of The IUS Review. He has been a featured writer at the Tuesday Night Reading Series in Evansville, Indiana. His writing appears in The Edward Society and The2ndHand. He teaches college writing to college students. His book is called Powering the Devil's Circus and his website is located here. He is a writer.

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