I'd not read nor heard of George Saunders before the exhilarating joy of "In Persuasion Nation" (Harper's Magazine, November 2005). When a bunch of characters from advertising begin to revolt against The System, all Hell breaks loose. A polar bear maimed after stealing Cheetos from Eskimos realizes the Gnostic truth about the commercial Demiurge and tries to rekindle a squashed revolutionary spirit, but Skittles ruin the day.
Check out this paragraph:
At the edge of town they are met by a polar bear with an axe in his head, a puppet boy whose lower half has been burned to a crisp, six headless working-class guys holding bottles of beer, and Voltaire, who's been given a such a severe snuggie that his eyes are open wider than real eyes can possibly open.I note that Mr. Saunders has several story collections, a fable illustrated by Lane Smith, and at least one novel on Amazon. I might have to check this shit out!
