The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil

In The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, George Saunders offers his most boldly imaginative fiction yet. In a profoundly strange country called Inner Horner, large enough for only one resident at a time, citizens waiting to enter the country fall under the rule of the power-hungry and tyrannical Phil, setting off a chain of injustice and mass hysteria. An Animal Farmfor the 21st century, this is an incendiary political satire of unprecedented imagination, spiky humor, and cautionary appreciation for the hysteric in everyone. Over six years in the writing, and brilliantly and beautifully packaged, this novella is Saunders' first stand-alone, book-length work--and his first book for adults in five years.

George Saunders is the author of the New York Times Notable Books CivilWarLand in Bad Decline and Pastoralia. He is the three-time recipient of the National Magazine Award, and a four-time recipient of the O. Henry Award. Nominated for the PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction, Saunders is currently director of the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University, where he has received a Graduate Teaching Award. A new collection, The Red Bow, will be published in 2006.