Good Thunder Reading E.C.

           There were two readers that presented some of their writings on Thursday the 17th.
The first was Amanda Shumacher, a young woman in her third year of the MFA program at Mankato. She mainly writes young adult novels to short stories to personal essays. Her reading consisted of a section of one of her young adult novels. It was a scene with a girl named Josie laying in her room looking back on her mother's death and wondering when people will stop grieving for her pain and misery.
           This section of writing was very deep and emotioinal. The details of Josies thoughts were very vivid and painted a picture of what Josie was like. She lost her mother when she died due to a drunk driver. She herself had mostly gone past the stage of grieving of her mother, but there were friends who still reminded Josie of how bad the situation is and how they know how she feels, but she is critical and sees right through these people. She also developed a stealing habit, which suggests her reaching out for attention and something to take her mind off her mother.

           Also the well known fiction writer George Saunders. George Saunders has won many award for his unique style of writing in his short stories. Along with short stories he has also published children books and books of short essays. In the short fiction story titled "Victory Lap" he read in class he displayed his interesting stlye of writing. The story is written from three points of view and occasionally jumps from one of the character's view to the next. The characters are Allison a pretty young teenage girl who loves ballet and is slightly self obsessed. Next is Kyle, a tall skinny scrawny pale cross country kid who is a bit of a nerd due to the seclusion his parents make him live in. The last is the point of view of an middle-aged overall dumb man who turns out to be a kidnapper.
           Saunder's writing makes it seem like your literally in the head of the character and the character has schytzophrenia. There is not a detailed thought left out of the text on that particular character. At first it was a bit confusing but eventually the story picked up and the random bits of crude humor helped the story keep moving. The plot of the story is an intense heroic one that makes a listener feel good inside. After being inside the three characters heads for half an hour the action picks up when the man kidnapps Allison and takes her to his van to rape her. Kyle saw the whole thing and against his own will convinced himself to run out across the street and gash in the head of the kidnapper with a rock. This is a story of an underdog who prevailed and saved the pretty girl; its an old theme written in the unique style of George Saunders who put a modern twist on the underdog theme.