Perhaps that was my life lesson from this masterclass - to let the things take me where I have to go. That story actually is the one that undergoes the most detailed literary analysis, as he shares different translations of phrases from the original Russian. A master class in reading great short stories by Russian masters, we first actually read a Saunders-chosen story. Uno pensaría que cualquier lector empedernido, como es mi caso, es, en mayor o menor medida, un aspirante a escritor.

In short form, “Gooseberries” is about two men who, while walking through wide open country (in which windmills can be seen in the distance), get caught in the rain and visit a third friend for shelter.

I thought I was only going to be reading a critique of 7 Russian short stories, but there is so much more depth and personality in this book. Algunos de los relatos son extraordinarios pese a sus defectos (hablando desde un punto de vista académico); otros los son precisamente por sus defectos. Each story--except the first--is read in its entirety and then Saunders walks us through the story pointing out the underlying structural elements which which I for one would have missed. The Darling' proceeds faster, but along similar analysis, showing a more dialed-out view of the rhythm of a story.

stories from the Russian masters he and his students discuss throughout the semester, distilling the most important elements in his approach to short story writing. It is obvious the happy person feels this way only because the unhappy ones carry their burden in silence, and without this silence the happiness would be impossible.Our inner orchestra has been instructed that certain instruments are to dominate, others to play softly or not at all.