A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
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A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

George Saunders (Author, Narrator), Phylicia Rashad (Narrator), Nick Offerman (Narrator),
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 3,601 ratings
#1 Best Seller in Russian & Soviet Literature
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From the New York Times best-selling, Booker Prize - winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo and Tenth of December comes a literary master class on what makes great stories work and what they can tell us about ourselves — and our world today.

For the last 20 years, George Saunders has been teaching a class on the Russian short story to his MFA students at Syracuse University. In A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, he shares a version of that class with us, offering some of what he and his students have discovered together over the years. Paired with iconic short stories by Chekhov, Turgenev, Tolstoy, and Gogol, the seven essays in this book are intended for anyone interested in how fiction works and why it’s more relevant than ever in these turbulent times.

In his introduction, Saunders writes, “We’re going to enter seven fastidiously constructed scale models of the world, made for a specific purpose that our time maybe doesn’t fully endorse but that these writers accepted implicitly as the aim of art — namely, to ask the big questions, questions like, How are we supposed to be living down here? What were we put here to accomplish? What should we value? What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?”

He approaches the stories technically yet accessibly, and through them explains how narrative functions; why we stay immersed in a story and why we resist it; and the bedrock virtues a writer must foster. The process of writing, Saunders reminds us, is a technical craft, but also a way of training oneself to see the world with new openness and curiosity.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is a deep exploration not just of how great writing works but of how the mind itself works while reading, and of how the reading and writing of stories make genuine connection possible.

This audiobook includes a PDF of the tables, outlines, figures, and appendices from the book.

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  1. Listening Length
    14 hours and 44 minutes
  2. Author
    George Saunders
  3. Narrator
    George Saunders, see all
  4. Audible release date
    January 12, 2021
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Random House Audio
  7. ASIN
    B08BG9PPBB
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 14 hours and 44 minutes
Author George Saunders
Narrator George Saunders, Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, Glenn Close, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, BD Wong, Renée Elise Goldsberry
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date January 12, 2021
Publisher Random House Audio
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B08BG9PPBB
Best Sellers Rank #7,714 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#1 in Russian & Soviet Literature (Audible Books & Originals)
#5 in Study & Teaching Reference (Books)
#6 in Literary History & Criticism

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
3,601 global ratings
Beauty Lies In The Eye Of The Beholder
4 Stars
Beauty Lies In The Eye Of The Beholder
Prof. George Saunders gives everyday folks a chance to share in how he teaches a masterclass on how to write short stories. The process is interesting, and brings into better focus the classic Russian fiction he uses as a springboard. I like the book, but I’m left with the thought that I’m glad I didn’t spend the time and money to attend his graduate class. He strains a bit to make his point of the stories’ greatness. The puzzling ending to Turgenev’s “The Singers” is a case in point. Prof. Saunders maintains it is a beautiful allegory to the singing contest in a village tavern. I think he greatly stretches the point, here and elsewhere. The epilogue is just a reminder of the banal and difficult life in the peasant village that was briefly interrupted by a beautiful moment in the tavern.Saunders has an odd, but interesting, engineer’s approach to interpreting stories. He puts a lot of emphasis on structure, for example. There is even a two-page table explaining the elements of one story. I suspect Saunders dislikes Faulkner.
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Top reviews from the United States

Michael J. Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars A great and detailed look at classic Russian stories
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
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For whatever reason, I have never really sought out short stories - but I loved George Saunders' "Lincoln in the Bardo" so I was excited to check out "A Swim in a Pond in the Rain". By the end of the book I have slotted in a couple of books of stories - one by Saunders and another set of Russian classics - into my reading queue.

The book is essentially an on-paper class on the short story form and analysis of classic Russian fiction as taught by Syracuse professor Saunders. Does that sound pretty awesome to you? It did to me, and it still does - and I highly recommend it!

In terms of structure, you read the original (translated, obviously) story and then Saunders digs into all aspects of the story thoroughly, followed by an afterword where he brings additional context. For the first story he takes things apart one page at a time, which was actually incredibly instructive and sets your mind into an analytical frame for the remainder of the book. That was important for me, as the style and importance of each word and sentence of a short story is much greater than in a longer novel or analysis book.

There is some really great stuff here - from disparate stories such ‘Master and Man’ to ‘The Nose’, you are taken on a journey of wildly varying styles, narration, subjects, intents, and translational difficulties. These are clearly masters of the form - in ‘Master and Man’ I put the book aside for a couple of days because I knew bad stuff was coming and wasn’t ready yet!

If I had a single complaint - and of course I do - it is that the combined story analysis and afterthoughts started to ‘overstay their welcome’ for the stories in the middle of the book. A couple of times I found myself saying “I GET IT” and had to slog through the extended analysis - but it wasn’t that I disagreed or had issues with Saunders’ takes on things, just that I was already ‘there’ in terms of understanding the story and nuances.

While reading these stories and the analysis I learned a ton about the form - every sentence had a purpose, every paragraph advanced the action - and wondered why I never got into them before. I am excited to read collections of stories soon!

Make no mistake - this is as much a college course as it is a set of short stores. There are exercises and side-studies for the reader to do, such as reworking paragraphs of text. If you are interested in not just reading great stories, but also learning about the form, authors and individual stories in depth I strongly recommend checking it out!
22 people found this helpful
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Flying Scot
5.0 out of 5 stars Reading the Russians
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2021
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The very best thing about this book is what it does for the underappreciated short story, a form more demanding than any save the poem. Perhaps it will encourage many who read only the novel to experience the gem-like beauty of the genre and become converts to its myriad merits.

The author is a teacher of writing at Syracuse University. He guides our reading through stories by the great Russian masters Chekhov, Turgenev, Gogol, and Tolstoy, as if we were sitting with him in his classroom. By interposing various techniques of criticism throughout the stories - sometimes after just one page of the story, sometimes after two or more - he brings us to a much deeper understanding of the work than might have been gained by a typically less involved, more superficial reading. He shows us how to become responsive to author's purpose, even regarding the most seemingly trivial effects and apparently small details of the stories; he explains how the author raises our expectations only to dash them and then turn them into something much finer than we might have considered; and he creates deep empathy with the protagonist, so much so that we tend to lose ourselves in her life and in the difficulties and disappointments that attend it.

In Chekhov's story "In the Cart" we are able to apprehend the irresoluble loneliness of an unmarried school teacher in a rural district, a woman of apparently early middle age whose reflection on a once happy and loving life long since denied due to accidental misfortune yet achieves, in that very act of remembrance, a kind of epiphany which allows both herself and the reader to ultimately experience her small sense of personal triumph. Thus we realize a perfect example of truth and beauty in the harsh reality of, on the one hand, her inescapable loneliness and, on the other, its ultimate small redemption.

The full realization of the many nuanced components of this story that lead us to this depth of appreciation is much predicated on the careful and meticulous instruction of author George Saunders, our teacher here. As he says, "We really feel Marya's loneliness. We feel it as our own." Indeed we do. This surely exemplifies Chekhov's finest achievement. Our emotions are involved, but not in a cheap or manipulated way. There is no sentimentality here, but we are not emotionally unaffected. It is the kind of very real and very personal loneliness objectified not just through a piece of fiction, but through our own experience and observance of life as well.

I've always disliked thinking of reading as a strictly private activity. Reading is best when it is shared, for example, in a classroom of sympathetic readers. The author of this book makes us feel as though we are reading and learning in company with that sympathetic other, almost right beside us, teaching and guiding us as we go. It is almost that personal.

"We read to know we're not alone," a student once told author and teacher C.S. Lewis. And so this story by Chekhov clarifies. I can only surmise how helpful and attentive Mr. Saunders must be to his students' understanding of literature if he is able to so thoroughly enhance my own understanding through this book.
45 people found this helpful
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M. F. Crowl
5.0 out of 5 stars Not everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2021
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I had to read the first chapter of Lincoln in the Bardo twice before I got to grips with what was going on in the story. Saunders certainly made you work hard in that book - at times. But it proved to be a wonderful book in very many ways.
The wonderful Saunders is the writer of this unusual book as well. Based on a series of lectures (rewritten for the book form, I think) focusing on seven short stories by four Russian writers, it's also a class on writing, full of great ideas, the sort of ideas you don't find in other books on 'how to write.'
This isn't really a book on 'how to write', and yet that subject comes up time and again. It's more a book on finding your own voice as a writer, and learning to use it well. But beyond that, it's a book in which readers unfamiliar with these Russian stories will gain insight into them in a way that a straight-through reading won't give.
More than one of these stories made me say, 'What was that about?' at the end; I needed Saunders' long experience with the short story form and with these particular Russian stories to see why these stories have endured, and why they are as great as they are.
Nudging us along with questions, insights, discussions, and much more, Saunders brings each story alive in a way you don't see on the first reading - which is not to say that the stories don't affect you. It's just that they may not have as much effect on you as Saunders knows they can.
And by focusing on detail and craft and structure, all of which tend to get glossed over in a first reading, you see how wonderfully the stories are put together, and what considerable questions they ask.
This book may not be everyone's cup of tea in terms of 'learning' to write. For me, however, as a writer, it has to rank as one of the best books on the subject of writing that I've come across.
10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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quinet
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in Canada on February 11, 2024
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Anyone who writes for a living in any field needs this book.
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ma-muc
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book.
Reviewed in Germany on November 4, 2023
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I loved reading it, it is really well written, a joy to read and full of wisdom, insights and last but not least humor. I loved the Russian short stories and how Saunders dissceted them.
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Kaushik Roy
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful. Wonderful. Immensely helpful.
Reviewed in India on September 25, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is essential reading for wannabe writers and passionate readers. For the former it provides inspiration and confidence. For the latter it provides sheer joy. Much gratitude for the author. Wish had attended a class of his in person. Sigh.
One person found this helpful
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erika
2.0 out of 5 stars A Swim in a Pond
Reviewed in Italy on August 30, 2021
Verified Purchase
Certo Saunders scrive bene. Ma questo libro è troppo testo scolastico, analisi che non mi piacciono. Non credo che gli autori di questi esemplari di narrativa hanno pensato come Saunders. Ho imparato qualcosa, ma non è un libro che leggerò una seconda volta.
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lilysmum
5.0 out of 5 stars Sublimely beautiful writing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2021
Verified Purchase
What a joy to read this book. It’s sublime. Saunders takes you through a small collection of Russian short stories and explores the craft of writing in minute and spellbinding detail. There are stories by Chekhov, Tolstoy and Gogol included, and each story is printed in full so that you can first of all read it and reach your own conclusions and then compare your reactions to Saunders’ own.
There are fascinating insights into the writers’ lives. For example, did you know that Gogol was obsessed with noses, afraid of leeches abs could touch the top of his nose with his tongue? Or that his nickname at school was “the mysterious dwarf”? I didn’t either. Did you know Tolstoy had 13 children? (His poor wife). There’s so much humour, too. I laughed out loud.
There are also delightful comments about life in general which seem to speak to me: ‘Power is held by shitheads; virtuous people suffer unfairly. Happy, fortunate people, to whom everything has been given, preach positivity to sad, unlucky people, who were given nothing. We push the button labelled ‘I Need Help’ and one of those boxing gloves comes out and hits us in the face as the machine lets out a comic farting noise.’
Although I didn’t always agree with the author’s evaluations and deconstructions of the texts, I found his insights and analysis totally fascinating, and the experience of reading this book has made me: more aware of what I need to do to improve my writing (basically, revision and causation); more aware of the body of Russian literature that I need to read; burn with desire to attend a series of lectures with the author and engage with his teaching in greater depth. Which isn’t likely to happen. But that’s life.
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lilysmum
5.0 out of 5 stars Sublimely beautiful writing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 27, 2021
What a joy to read this book. It’s sublime. Saunders takes you through a small collection of Russian short stories and explores the craft of writing in minute and spellbinding detail. There are stories by Chekhov, Tolstoy and Gogol included, and each story is printed in full so that you can first of all read it and reach your own conclusions and then compare your reactions to Saunders’ own.
There are fascinating insights into the writers’ lives. For example, did you know that Gogol was obsessed with noses, afraid of leeches abs could touch the top of his nose with his tongue? Or that his nickname at school was “the mysterious dwarf”? I didn’t either. Did you know Tolstoy had 13 children? (His poor wife). There’s so much humour, too. I laughed out loud.
There are also delightful comments about life in general which seem to speak to me: ‘Power is held by shitheads; virtuous people suffer unfairly. Happy, fortunate people, to whom everything has been given, preach positivity to sad, unlucky people, who were given nothing. We push the button labelled ‘I Need Help’ and one of those boxing gloves comes out and hits us in the face as the machine lets out a comic farting noise.’
Although I didn’t always agree with the author’s evaluations and deconstructions of the texts, I found his insights and analysis totally fascinating, and the experience of reading this book has made me: more aware of what I need to do to improve my writing (basically, revision and causation); more aware of the body of Russian literature that I need to read; burn with desire to attend a series of lectures with the author and engage with his teaching in greater depth. Which isn’t likely to happen. But that’s life.
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14 people found this helpful
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