The brief and frightening reign of Phil

Just finished reading an interesting novella - The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders

A quick read but absolutely brilliant. Amazing imagination, sardonic wit, and a fine commentary on the way people in power manipulate information and people to keep the status quo.

Saunder's novels have been said to be a great satirical representation of "America’s empire-building and pop-culture obsessions" which he sees as both "comic and tragic." Here's Saunders on reading Slaughterhouse Five by another guru of the tragic-comic novel genre, the recently deceased Kurt Vonnegut .

Also read some interesting interviews with the author: 1, 2, 3, 4.