The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil: (Includes the 'In Persuasion Nation' Collection)

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil: (Includes the 'In Persuasion Nation' Collection)

by George Saunders (Author)

Synopsis

Welcome to Inner Horner, a nation so small it can only accommodate one citizen at a time. The other six citizens must wait their turn in the Short-Term Residency Zone of the surrounding country of Outer Horner. But when Inner Horner suddenly shrinks, forcing three-quarters of the citizen then in residence over the border into Outer Horner territory, the Outer Hornerites declare an Invasion in Progress - having fallen under the spell of the power-hungry and demagogic Phil. So begins The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil. Fuelled by Saunders's unrivalled wit, outlandish imagination and incisive political sensibility, this is a deeply strange yet strangely familiar fable of power and impotence, justice and injustice. The novella is followed by In Persuasion Nation, a collection of stories by turns touching, funny and sad, set in a warped, hilarious, yet very recognisable American landscape.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 05 Jun 2006

ISBN 10: 0747582211
ISBN 13: 9780747582212
Book Overview: The story 'The Red Bow' won the National Magazine Award for Fiction

Media Reviews
'Graceful, dark, authentic and funny' Thomas Pynchon 'There is no denying the noble rage at the heart of this book ... stunning ... brilliant' Sam Lipsyte 'Mr Saunders writes like the illegitimate offspring of Nathanael West and Kurt Vonnegut. His satiric vision of America is dark and demented; it is also ferocious and very funny.' Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
Author Bio
George Saunders is the author of two short story collections, Pastoralia and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, as well as the children's book, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip. His work has received four National Magazine Awards, and has been selected for the O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories collections. In 1999, Saunders was recognized as one of the 20 best young American fiction writers by the New Yorker. He teaches in the creative writing program at Syracuse University.