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

“In Buddhism, it’s said that teaching is like ‘a finger pointing at the moon.’ The moon (enlightenment) is the essential thing and the pointing finger is trying to direct us to it, but it’s important not to confuse finger with moon.”

Saunders believes that his role as a mentor and a teacher is to suggest rather than to dictate. He believes that writers must ultimately solve their problems through their own writing, and must learn to listen to themselves. In this collection of stories, he aims partly to show how these differently masterful writers solved their narrative problems.

“The paved road was dry, a splendid April sun was shedding warmth, but there was still snow in the ditches and in the woods.”

This sentence is from the opening of the Chekhov story “In the Cart.” Saunders has highlighted the hinging “but” of the sentence to show the subtle way in which this background description creates an atmosphere of uncertainty. The hopefulness of the spring sun contrasts with the desolate image of “snow in the ditches.” This is an example of efficiency—even a description of a landscape can tell us something about a character’s predicament.

“The world is full of people with agendas, trying to persuade us to act on their behalf (spend on their behalf, fight and die on their behalf, oppress others on their behalf).”

Saunders believes that fiction is important because it resists overly simplistic messages, such as those in advertising and social media. Good fiction develops our ability to pay close attention and appreciate complexity, so that we are less easily manipulated.