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George Saunders: 'Monty Python taught me that comedy and truth are the same thing'

The US author on his love for Nikolai Gogol, laughing at Don Quixote – and a poky little puppy

The book I am currently reading
Cervantes: Don Quixote. I’ve read in it before but this time I’m in for the long haul. I’m alternating this with Hot Stew by the wonderful Fiona Mozley, and A Christmas Carol, by you-know-who.

The book that changed my life
There are so many but I’m inclined to mention my first read of The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison. Something about the book reopened a part of my brain that had been very active when I was a young Catholic kid – the part that is intrigued by the notion of becoming infinitely empathetic, as, we were told, Jesus was. Morrison’s gaze in that book is so fair and curious and loving and seems to say, or underscore, that yes, we really are all brothers and sisters down here and it’s only our limited vision that makes it seem otherwise.

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2MxLtOb
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