Authors Reveal: What I Read When I Have Two Minutes of Peace
We asked some of the most celebrated authors in America what they read in the doctor's office or in the line for carpool—any time they have a short, unexpected window of free time.
By Leigh Newman
"
The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol.
I go back to it because I can't figure out the source of its magic. But I also can't deny that magic—it's present in every paragraph. The story has a great heart. It's saying something deep about what we need to do (be kind) and why it's so hard (people are strange and off-putting). It's crazy and self-contradictory and naughty and reckless. It refused to be reduced. It has this God's-eye feeling—this feeling of a Creator looking down on the flawed world He's created, with pity but also ferocity."
—
George Saunders, author of
Tenth of December
Published 03/25/2013
