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.