A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
Subtitle: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
Publisher: Random House
Published: Jan 12, 2021
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 448
ISBN-13: 9781984856029
First sentence: For the last twenty years, at Syracuse University, I've been teaching a class in the ninteteenth-century Russian short story in translation.
Description: "In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders guides the reader through seven classic Russian short stories he's been teaching for twenty years as a professor in the prestigious Syracuse University graduate MFA creative writing program. Paired with stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, these essays are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it's more relevant than ever in these turbulent times. Saunders approaches each of these stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. For the process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is as much a craft as it is a quality of openness and a willingness to see the world through new eyes. Funny, frank, and rigorous, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain ultimately shows how great fiction can change a person's life and become a benchmark of one's moral and ethical beliefs"--
Notes: Source title: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
Table of contents: title: We Begin
pagenum: 3; title: In the Cart - Anton Chekhov
pagenum: 9; title: A Page at a Time: Thoughts on "In the Cart"
pagenum: 11; title: Afterthought #1
pagenum: 60; title: The Singers - Ivan Turgenev
pagenum: 63; title: The Heart of the Story: Thoughts on "The Singers"
pagenum: 84; title: Afterthought #2
pagenum: 110; title: The Darling - Anton Chekhov
pagenum: 119; title: A Pattern Story: Thoughts on "The Darling"
pagenum: 134; title: Afterthought #3
pagenum: 161; title: Master and Man - Leo Tolstoy
pagenum: 165; title: And Yet They Drove On: Thoughts on "Master and Man"
pagenum: 217; title: Afterthought #4
pagenum: 244; title: The Nose - Nikolai Gogol
pagenum: 249; title: The Door to the Truth Might Be Strangeness: Thoughts on "The Nose"
pagenum: 276; title: Afterthought #5
pagenum: 305; title: Gooseberries - Anton Chekhov
pagenum: 311; title: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: Thoughts on "Gooseberries"
pagenum: 324; title: Afterthought #6
pagenum: 343; title: Alyosha the Pot - Leo Tolstoy
pagenum: 349; title: The Wisdom of Omission: Thoughts on "Alyosha the Pot"
pagenum: 357; title: Afterthought #7
pagenum: 381; title: We End
pagenum: 385; title: Appendices
pagenum: 393; label: A
title: A Cutting Exercise
pagenum: 395; label: B
title: An Escalation Exercise
pagenum: 400; label: C
title: A Translation Exercise
pagenum: 403; title: Acknowledgments
pagenum: 407; title: List of Texts
pagenum: 409; title: Additional Resources
pagenum: 411; title: Credits
pagenum: 413