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

'Graceful, dark, authentic and funny' Thomas Pynchon 'An American short-story writer of intimidating talent' Zadie Smith, Marie Claire 'Dark, concerned, confused and funny, all at the same time ... Like so much of Saunders' brilliant, crazy writing it's relevant, but not too relevant' The Times 'You do not read Saunders' stories so much as watch them detonate on the page in front of you, like a firecracker some joker has slipped into your pudding' Stephen Amidon, New Statesman --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

'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

`Not since Twain has America produced a satirist this funny' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

`Saunders is a comic genius, with a depth, heart and tenderness
all of his own' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

`Graceful, dark, authentic and funny' --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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.

Cult status for George Saunders grows larger with every book;
the novella is followed by In Persuasion Nation, a collection of stories by
turns touching, funny which includes the story `The Red Bow' which won the
National Magazine Award for Fiction --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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.