Chaos Reading discussion

I first came across this story on a bag from Chipotle (fast food, "mexican grill" chain). Apparently, this "Cultivating Thought--Author Series" is curated by Jonathan Safran Foer. The writings are extremely short as they fit on the side of disposable bags and cups, but it's kind of fascinating to see how condensed a "story" might be, and they've chosen some heavy hitters.

You can read Saunders contribution and a brief interview here or just the story itself pasted below.


Two-Minute Note to the Future
by George Saunders

Amazing to think that I am here in my time and you, future reader, are there in your (future) time, reading this! By the time you read this, I may be in grave (!). Maybe you, in your future clothing, can drive your jet car to my grave, hover over grave, think fondly of time you read these words, leave weird cloned flowers, go scooting back to own life. But beware: you too, future reader, will someday be in grave. All, in time, will be in graves. Unless you, in future time, have defeated death. If so, please revive me (!). Also revive Kate (wife) and kids (Sally, Kip).

Speaking of Sally, Kip: what parenting like in future? Still difficult? Even though your kids not brought to term in womb, but in small hygienic chamber attached to mother, even though your kids born speaking several languages + playing violin, due to tiny chips in brains, future parents still find parenting hard?

My boss just came, asked what I was writing. EnderCO report? Ha. No.

Note to future generations: Still have “bosses”? Bosses still intrusive? Still have “offices”? Future offices = high tech? All you have to do to raise temperature is think, “Raise temperature in office,” computer does? People move from place to place on invisible air-cars? People think: “AirCar, take me to Copy Room,” soon are soundlessly proceeding to Copy Room? Except there is no Copy Room, because paper obsolete, all documents projected on to screen inside brain? Sometimes, for prank, future person sends ton of random copies into brain of friend, friend cannot walk/see, has to feel way to AirCar, say: “AirCar, take me to Frank’s cubicle, am going to kill Frank for flooding my brain with random copies.” In your (future) time, boss can just stay in own (plush) office, nosing into what (excellent, responsible) worker might be writing in own spare time? Worker can send boss mental message: If you are so smart, Mr. Kenner, why branch shrinking, why did you have to lay off Jerry Ringer?

Jerry = good guy. Really miss Jerry. Jerry = dear friend. People still get fired in future? Even person with new baby? Hope not. Hope that, in future, all is well, everyone eats free, no one must work, all just sit around feeling love for one another.

This is really interesting. The character writing this managed to say a lot about his own life, while ostensibly wondering about someone else's (the "future person").

I'm not sure whether I like the "sound-bite style" of writing or not in this instance. I feel like if the character had the time to write something this long, then he probably had time to write full sentences (which they almost are anyway).

I have a question about the basic premise too - Who is the intended audience? The writer knows that the (potential) person in the future cannot answer his questions. So the note is essentially an idle musing to himself on what the future might be like. Right? But then why include such detail as to add that his wife and children should also be revived? Why explain who Jerry is? Maybe I'm overthinking this..

Saunders tends to adopt a kind of satirical "sound-bite" style sometimes based on shorthand, texting, etc. My impression--and it's only my impression--is that he's trying to capture that kind of rush to today's life where we're not completing sentences, using hashtags, etc. This guy is essentially scribbling a note to the future in two minutes while at work--sort of ridiculous in and of itself, yet he manages to get across some serious ideas/worries while sounding kind of like a dolt. It's almost like an extended I-got-carried-away post-it note you'd leave at somebody's desk (somebody in the future!). It is a bit of an idle musing, although he seems pretty certain of specific future technologies...

I think he's scribbling notes to himself on what he would write to the future, the way someone writes things like "Pick up bacon. What time class?" when scribbling a quick reminder. It's a rough draft that he will never finish. What he's really picturing is a daydream future where his life doesn't suck, with the trappings of stereotypical science fiction. Its destination as text on a fast food bag makes it that much more pathetic.

it's a fun breath of air, like the 100 word London underground stories that did the rounds a while back, but it's gone in one bite and to be honest the bite wasn't that satisfying

did any of you read the famous Hemmingway 6 word story? he was challenged to write something heart breaking in 6 words

he wrote

For Sale
Baby shoes
Never used

Richard wrote: "did any of you read the famous Hemmingway 6 word story? he was challenged to write something heart breaking in 6 words

he wrote

For Sale
Baby shoes
Never used .."

Wow. Yep, that's pretty heartbreaking.

The Hemingway bit always makes me think of Strindbergs "Ett halvt ark papper", which I found translated to English here (as usual, it's twice as long in English as the original, which is very spare with words, yet it's still a very short story):

http://readbookonline.net/readOnLine/...

Damn! That Strindberg piece packs a wallop, Krazykiwi--thanks for posting the link and connecting it to this story. And great connection with the 6-word Hemingway story, Richard. All three of these condense and contort the notion of story in different ways. I can't remember where I heard this idea, but it was something along the lines of Freud's "fort/da" game being the structural foundation for all stories--in short, something (desirable goes) away and either returns (or we try to make it return).

Loss seemed like a theme through all three of these, although each subsequent story makes Saunders' look like the class clown of the bunch, yah? And yet, it's also kind of the most accessible. Whitney, I loved this point you made: "Its destination as text on a fast food bag makes it that much more pathetic."

I suppose the Hemingway and Strindberg might be pre-cursors to what is now called flash- or micro-fiction...

Marc wrote: "Damn! That Strindberg piece packs a wallop, Krazykiwi--thanks for posting the link and connecting it to this story. And great connection with the 6-word Hemingway story, Richard. All three of these..."

You're welcome. I'm not sure how those two got inextricably bound in my mind, but they are. Yet hardly anyone I know has read any Strindberg. I confess I haven't read all that much. But I do like his short stories a great deal - also his letters arefabulous (there are about 10,000 of them filed away at the Strindberg museum).

I suppose you're right about flash fiction -- oddly I haven't found many modern authors that I think pull it off, but I keep looking.

Krazykiwi wrote: "The Hemingway bit always makes me think of Strindbergs "Ett halvt ark papper", which I found translated to English here (as usual, it's twice as long in English as the original, which is very spare..."

Really beautiful. Thanks for posting that.