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Lead book review

The art of the short story: what we can learn from the Russians

Viv Groskop takes a masterclass in the art of the short story

23 January 2021

9:00 AM

23 January 2021

9:00 AM

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading and Life) George Saunders

Bloomsbury, pp.256, 16.99

This is such a superb idea that it’s a wonder a book like this has not cropped up before. Here we have a critically acclaimed, best-selling novelist, who also happens to be a highly sought-after creative writing teacher, setting out the curriculum of his over-subscribed ‘How to Write’ class in a way that is accessible to anyone… and the book reproduces the texts under discussion.

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