With his usual humor and surrealism, George Saunders returns to the short-story form with this amazing collection. These nine stories are trademark Saunders--surreal, quirky, and fun--but, most importantly, they comment on larger, more profound societal and political issues with astute precision.

I both read and listened to parts of this book, which was enjoyable, especially since many of the stories are narrated by celebrities, including Jack Brayer ("Ghouls"), Melora Hardin ("Mother's Day"), and Tina Fey ("The Bold Mom of Action.". The title story, "Liberation Day," is read by Saunders himself and is the longest story in the collection. In it, people, who come on hard times, can "apply" to be props in rich people's live performances. The "Speakers" literally have their memories wiped out, are restrained against the wall on a stage, and must perform for a person who has the means to pay their families for the ownership. In this case, a trio are performing Custer's Last Stand for Mr. U. and his rich friends. While the main mind-wiped Speaker considers it an honor to do this work, he doesn't remember his family (who are being paid by Mr. U.); he thinks he's in love with Mrs. U, who is molesting him; and he's upset when Mr. U's son Mike brings in a Resistance group intent on taking this indecency down. While funny and action-packed, the whole idea of this seems far-fetched--until you remember how far people will go to survive in today's world, how some are forced to be degraded or harmed just to survive.

All of the pieces in this thought-provoking collection have the same undercurrent. In "Ghoul," Mike, a performer in a twisted theme park called Maws of Hell, is part of a hierarchical and dangerous livelihood where performers are killed if they say out loud that they realize their park never gets any visitors. In "The Mom of Bold Action," a mom gets irrationally angry and vindictive when her son is pushed down by a mentally unstable man. Each story seems to have people made worse or harmed or controlled by a society that, as a whole, has forgotten how to be humane and decent. It's a society that dehumanizes out of selfishness, arrogance, and/or and societal class structures. Is Saunders commenting on where he sees today's America going?

If you're a Saunders's fan, you love this collection. And, if you've never read Saunders or just read his book, Lincoln in the Bardo, I highly suggest you give this collection a try and absolutely read Tenth of December. Both of these collections are filled with stories that will make you chuckle, amaze you with their surreal brilliance, and absolutely make you think and rethink issues that are prevalence in real-life today. Read this and see a short-story master give us readers brilliance to chew on.