Tenth of December - Rates a 10 & Earns the Short Story Prize '13

George Saunders' short story collection "Tenth of December," was a Nat'l Book Award Finalist and winner of the Short Story Prize '13.  Saunders is a gifted writer who captures the human psyche in all its torments, despair & disconnect from reality.  His innovative style is prescient sic-fi, insightful psychological distress and poses ethical questions.  ""Can goodness win? Or do good people always get shafted, evil being reckless?"  How far will a young teen go to defy his parents in order to protect a friend?  What are the ramifications of testing & observing new mind & libido altering drugs on the participants once the effects have worn off?   His sinister stories are not for the timid.  They are  rewarding for those prepared to enter the twilight zone & the realms of the unhinged mind.  "Seriously, is life fun or scary.  Are people good or bad?"  I recommend Saunders fresh examination of mankind's plights that are simultaneously entertaining & disturbing.  Tenth of December is an assemblage of piercing stories and exceptional prose.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, a Labor of Love

Graeme Simsion's delightful debut novel is about the pursuit of love against the odds and the power of friendship & human connection.  Don Tillman is a brilliant geneticist seriously lacking in social graces.  Don accepts his Asperger's diagnosis not as a fault but as "a potentially major advantage."  Despite Don's weak interpersonal skills, his desire to find a life partner, is strong; hence the wife project.  Don's best, and only friends, Gene a fellow Prof. & womanizer & his wife, Claudia, a psychologist and major source of friendly advice, aid Don in his quest to find his ideal mate.  Enter Rosie, a no nonsense, PhD candidate who is totally unacceptable according to Don's predetermined criteria.  However, Don unexpectedly discovers "my assessment of what would make me happy was totally incorrect." Anyone who enjoyed "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night" will thoroughly enjoy "The Rosie Project," about an adult on the Autism scale striving to conform to social norms to solve the mysteries of romance.  Rosie turns to Don for his expertise in genetics to help her determine her birth father.  Their collaboration leads to powerful feelings for each other that often defy logic.  As the stalwart & supportive Claudia says "when you really love someone, you have to be prepared to accept them as they are."  Be prepared to be thoroughly charmed by this bewitching tale of friendship & love.