George Saunders Book Club: A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

Become a better writer, reader, or increase your exposure to the Russian masters! Join Alex Viviano on a journey through Russian literature.

In George Saunders’ masterpiece, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares his two decades of experience of studying and teaching the Russian masters to students at Syracuse University (only six students are chosen to take this class from an applicant pool of 700). His book serves as a truncated version of this semester-long class in which Saunders shares his favorite selection of short stories from Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol. In addition to the short stories and Saunders’ accompanying analysis, he shares invaluable lessons for how to better understand literature, and fundamental rules we must follow if we would aspire to one day write great literature.

In this series, we will read the stories and Saunders’ analysis together, share learnings, and build community over a shared appreciation for great literature!

Meets bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 9-10pm ET starting November!

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In addition to series tickets, you will get access to our community Discord (with a channel for this series to chat between events)—as well as free salon tickets each month, discounts, free members-only events, and more.

DateEpisode
November 13,
2024
 Overview of the book and getting started
TBDIn the Cart (Chekhov) and intro to literary analysis
TBDThe Singers (Turgenev)
TBDThe Darling (Chekhov)
TBDMaster and Man (Tolstoy)
TBDThe Nose (Gogol)
TBDGooseberries (Chekhov) & Alyosha the Pot (Tolstoy)

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