Hello everyone, I'm Gilbert Cruz, Editor of the New York Times Book Review, and this is

our podcast.

For the next many months, we'll be highlighting great conversations from our Decade Plus

Archive.

We're planning a new iteration of this podcast, and as a result, we're going to take

a while to figure out what that might sound like.

Until then, we hope you enjoy these trips down memory lane.

George Saunders is one of America's most well-known short story writers.

He has a new collection titled Liberation Day.

Of that book, our reviewer, Colin Barrett writes that it's a spiky, at times, difficult

collection.

But he continues, these are stories worth reading.

The best of them as thought-provoking and resident as a fan of Saunders might expect.

In February 2017, he spoke with Pamela Paul upon the publication of his novel, Lincoln

in the Bardow, which later won the Booker Prize.

George Saunders joins us now.

George, thank you so much for being here.

I'll thank you for asking me, Paula.

I think the first question on most people's minds, when they hear the title of this novel,

is I think hopefully not who was Lincoln, but what is the Bardow?

What is the Bardow?

Yeah.

...