I began this year’s A To Z Challenge with a highly recommended book on writing, A SWIM IN A POND IN THE RAIN by George Saunders.

George is a professor at Syracuse University who teaches a course on fiction writing that studies Russian short stories by the greats: Chekhov, Tolstoy, Turgenev, and Gogol. Each of the seven essays in the book breaks down the narrative, structure, and the art of the short story.

This really does read like a class, but it’s a damn good class. I don’t do much in the way of short stories, but it was fascinating to unravel the layers of a well-laid shorter work of fiction. This book also includes worksheets (in PDF bundled with the audiobook if you buy it on audio), and is every bit as in-depth as it would be sitting in the classroom. I also have to say the audiobook is an exceptional treat as the stories are narrated by an all-star cast featuring Phylicia Rashad, Nick Offerman, Glenn Close, Keith David, Rainn Wilson, BD Wong, and Renée Elise Goldsberry.

Chekhov once said, “Art doesn’t have to solve problems, it only has to formulate them correctly.” George Saunders digs deep into the crafting of that formula involving reader expectations, flipping the narrative, embracing descriptive prose, and the breathless wonder of letting a story share its secrets first with you, and then the reader. The only reason I’m going with 4 1/2 stars is because I bought this on audio, and I really wish George had set it so we could hear the entire story, then go back and pick it apart. Instead, it’s a start-and-stop reading that really takes away from the magic of the story he wants us to experience.

Writers, read this. Then read it again.