A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

1. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders, is a book of seven main sections that takes you on a wonderful journey through some of the best Russian short stories ever written.
2. Each section contains the short story itself, a long section of analysis of the writing style and its meaning, and a shorter section usually devoted to larger picture thoughts on writing short stories.
3. At its core, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, is a series of lessons on improving your creative writing skills, but extends beyond into deepening enjoyment of literature and impressions of life.

🎨 Impressions

Initially, I was unsure if this book was going to be a good fit for me. Being, as I would consider it, to be a decent essayist and a very inexperienced short story writer, I didn’t know how much I might find useful or memorable from this book. Now that I’ve finished this book, all of those apprehensions were blown away.

The first thing that struck me was how conversational the book was. Saunders would ask questions, give thought experiments and exercises, and often had little sidebars or tangents which made me feel like I’m sitting next to him as he guided me through the stories.

Even though I haven’t written anything fictional since middle school, the writing lessons were still interesting and even applicable to the writing I’m currently doing. Now, when I’m writing for this website or if I decide to adventure into fictional writing in the future, I’ll have these lessons and questions to look back on and hopefully help guide me.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is not meant to be a how-to guide on writing better stories and Saunders even urges near the end that the methods in the book are not concrete ways for how to write. I really enjoyed this aspect, as the book seemed to flow in and out of several modes, like “this is how (insert author) made that happen” and “what do you think this means in our lives?”. This is where I found the most joy, in having Saunders lead the way through stories that would otherwise take me much, much longer to grasp all of the complexities.

Although the authors, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, and Gogol were some of the greatest Russian writers of their period and of all time, I did feel like the book was focussed on dead, white men. This made me think of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, in which she describes how women have a lot more difficulties in being artists and authors and are therefore heavily underrepresented. This is not so much an accusation on Saunders’s part, but it makes me wonder if among the Tolstoy’s and the Chekhov’s of that period, how many incredibly talented writers there were who didn’t have the opportunity to have their art immortalised because of their sex, class, or race among other factors.

If anything, this book is a great taster into some more classical fiction and definitely has left me curious as to what Saunders’ own short stories are like.

How I Discovered It 

One of English teachers from high school was a big fan of George Saunders and I saw this book, his latest, in the window in one of the local book stores. Having heard of George Saunders before, especially in high regard from a teacher I liked a lot, I thought I would check it out. It surely didn’t disappoint.

Who Should Read It?

The target audience for A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is certainly people who either write fiction or enjoy Russian literature a lot. However, I think this book is definitely suitable for most fans of classical fiction, even for those who may also not be super interested in learning how to write short stories.

☘️ How the Book Changed Me

• At the end, Saunders has a small section as a kind of farewell in which he talks about how each piece of fiction leaves a small mark on who we are. Some of it is short-lived, some of it is long-lasting. At the moment, I think the short-lived part will be some of the more specific writing advice, while a lot of stories and bigger picture questions discussed will stick with me for much longer.
• I believe I also learned how to read better. Sifting through all of the intriguing analysis, I was retaining pieces of information on how certain aspects of a story might come together or develop. For example, recognising certain structures, patterns, or rhythms throughout the writing can help look for clues as to what the writer is trying to express.

✍️ My Top Quotes

• “But there is nothing enduring in this world, and that is why even joy is not as keen in the moment that follows the first; and a moment later it grows weaker still and finally merges imperceptibly into one’s usual state of mind, just as a ring on the water, made by the fall of a pebble, merges finally into the smooth surface.
• “I think, therefore I am wrong, after which I speak, and my wrongness falls on someone also thinking wrongly, and then there are two of us thinking wrongly, and, being human, we can’t bear to think without taking action, which, having been taken, makes things worse.”
• “The falsehood that exalts we cherish more
  Than meaner truths that are a thousand strong.
  
  I saw a happy man, one whose cherished dream had so obviously come true, who had attained his goal in life, who had got what he wanted, who was satisfied with his lot and with himself. For some reason an element of sadness had always mingled with my thoughts of human happiness, and now at the sight of a happy man I was assailed by an oppressive feeling bordering on despair.”

• “For that matter, wouldn’t it be nice to just throw down on the side of being happy? To decide to live life as an ardent pro-happiness advocate, always striving to celebrate, dance, have fun, maximize your joy? But then, before you know it, you’re an obnoxious turd on Instagram, standing in a waterfall with a garland of flowers, thanking God for blessing you with this wonderful life you must have somehow earned via your immaculate mindfulness.”