George Saunders: Vigil

Today we’re talking to one of the greatest living writers, George
Saunders. He is the author of 12 books, including Tenth of
December, Pastoralia, Swimming in a Pond in the Rain, and Lincoln
in the Bardo which won the the Booker Prize. Three of his books
were included in the New York Times’ top 100 books of the 21st
century so far, and his work is noted for its humanity and unique,
often experimental narrative style. He’s the king of short stories
and has one of the best selling pages on Substack. His newest
release, Vigil, is about a lady called Jill Blaine who has died in
an explosion. She comes back to earth to help guide people who are
dying to the afterlife and provide comfort in their final moments.
But she meets her match in KJ Boone – an owner of an oil company
who have caused immense damage to the climate, all while he denied
climate change. He is a bad person, and yet Jill wants to empathise
with him. The third major player in the novel is called The
Frenchman – he is the man who invented the first engine. He feels a
lot of guilt about how his inventions were used, unlike KJ
Boone.  Here’s what happened when I chatted with George
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