George Saudners' Jon

It took a few pages for me to get used to the language and style of George Saunders' story, and for the first few paragraphs, I was rather put off. There were so many which's and what's and this is, that is, which is , who is-- I got confused and had to slow myself from skimming a greater part of the story.

I kept reading though, and I was happy to see that Saunders' story, despite its awkward, albeit occasionally charming style choice, his characters were interesting, the narrative extremely original, and his off-the-cuff sense of humor was absolutely marvelous.

What really struck me in this story were the details. The trademark after Aurabon, little phrases like "baby belly," the stores and modern references, or even just the repetition of Baby Amber, made this piece seem more real, almost like I could imagine myself in the facilities and doing the assessments on Ginger-Diet Coke.

I will say, since there wasn't a whole lot of exposition, I was a little confused on what exactly was taking place, or rather where everything was taking place, but I also think that added to the story. The point of the piece, I'm still trying to figure out. I get the brainwashing and the idea of utopian society through marketing and conformity, but, well, that's all I get.

The part about a man being called a rabbit when he was once a lion, the use of dude throughout the piece, and just, the odd bits-- this story really baffled me, and I can't quite get my head around it, but I enjoyed it. I was really pulling for Jon and Carolyn too.