Tenth of December (2013) by George Saunders is a collection of short stories that appeared in numerous periodicals between 1995 and 2009. The New York Times named the collection one of the top ten books of 2013. It also was awarded the 2013 Story Prize for short story collections and the first Folio Prize in 2014. The stories in the book focus on the human condition and finding significance in the smaller things in life—in spite of utilizing settings such as a prison lab in the future and an average home where human lawn ornaments are seen as a status symbol. Saunders deals with family dynamics, domestic life, and death by examining the truths of human existence.
“Victory Lap” is the opening story. Three days before her birthday, a young girl named Alison is kidnapped. Kyle, her former friend, lives close by with his very strict parents. He observed the kidnapping taking place and is torn between helping Alison and keeping himself safe by not getting involved. In “Sticks” a man has a pole in the front yard that he uses to decorate on holidays. The man’s son thinks about their life together and of how the father started decorating the pole in strange ways after the death of his wife. In “Puppy,” Marie and Callie are neighbors who …show more content…
A letter from Todd, the boss of a group of workers in Room 6, tells the staff to have a positive attitude about their work. “Al Roosten” is the story of the owner of an antique store who, for a charity event, has to dress up and walk on a runway to collect money. Al has a jealous feeling toward Larry Donfrey, one of his competitors in the event. Al longs to gain the respect of the people of the town. In “The Semplica Girl Diaries” a father tries to compete with a wealthy family in order to make his daughter happy. Among the gifts he buys for her are Semplica Girls who are women illegally imported from third-world nations and used a human lawn
“Victory Lap” is the opening story. Three days before her birthday, a young girl named Alison is kidnapped. Kyle, her former friend, lives close by with his very strict parents. He observed the kidnapping taking place and is torn between helping Alison and keeping himself safe by not getting involved. In “Sticks” a man has a pole in the front yard that he uses to decorate on holidays. The man’s son thinks about their life together and of how the father started decorating the pole in strange ways after the death of his wife. In “Puppy,” Marie and Callie are neighbors who …show more content…
A letter from Todd, the boss of a group of workers in Room 6, tells the staff to have a positive attitude about their work. “Al Roosten” is the story of the owner of an antique store who, for a charity event, has to dress up and walk on a runway to collect money. Al has a jealous feeling toward Larry Donfrey, one of his competitors in the event. Al longs to gain the respect of the people of the town. In “The Semplica Girl Diaries” a father tries to compete with a wealthy family in order to make his daughter happy. Among the gifts he buys for her are Semplica Girls who are women illegally imported from third-world nations and used a human lawn