Contemporary Fiction Views: What it means to be human and to be heard

Three beings are attached to a wall, programmed to Speak as the head of the house (their owner?) programs them to Speak. He controls the topic, the tone, the pace, the vision. The trio practice to perform for friends of this man.

Are they people? Robots? Clones? In the title story of Liberation Day, the latest story collection from George Saunders, the truth is eventually revealed. But first Saunders draws the reader into this odd arrangement through the interior thoughts of one of the beings, Jeremy, who explains what his existence is like.

There is a difference between talking, which is what he and the others do when allowed to, and Speaking, the performance art that Mr. U controls. Punishment for talking when not permitted is possible; they could be sent to the shed to stand among the shovels in silence. But the daily existence is dreary enough to quality as punishment.

The three -- Jeremy, Craig and Lauren -- are positioned in various ways, clothed in tracksuits, fed while still pinned in place, all in service of whatever kind of Speaking Mr. U. feels like. Their performances in Speaking nautical or cities fail to thrill the invited audience, although Jeremy describes how completely immersed in the performance he is.

He also has secret performances for Mrs. U., who yearns to be desired. Mr. and Mrs. U. have a grown son, Mike, who hates everything about the Speakers.

Because the public performances have gone so poorly, Mr. U. ups the ante. He obtains Singers, a backup Greek chorus, and adds new programming equipment. The Speakers and their new Singers will perform the Battle of the Little Bighorn from the perspective of soldiers and the Indigenous people.

Where the story may have been more cerebral up to this point, the emotional intensity goes to 11. Saunders is unflinching at depicting the horror of that day in what is now Montana. As someone who spent a day there, it is easy to again feel the trauma that still covers that land.

The Little Bighorn part of the story acknowledges that the attacked may have won this battle but that it led to them losing far more. 

“A few of the older men intuit the truth: this stunning victory is mere prelude; the colossus that is the white nation, galvanized by this humiliation, will soon enact a merciless revenge.”

Saunders also uses this as a way to bring the core of the Speakers to the forefront, especially after Mike introduces a surprise to the performance that turns violent. Jeremy breaks through the programming:

"Has anyone ever, for my enjoyment, Spoken words I have given them to Speak? Has anyone Sung, even once, for my pleasure?"

We know the answer.

As the story unrolls, comparisons to other entrapped beings come to mind, from Ishuguro's Never Let Me Go and Klara and the Sun, to The Semplica-Girl Diaries in The Tenth of December, the earlier brilliant collection from Saunders, come to mind to inform the narrative.

Acknowledging the humanity of another being is displayed with potent force in Liberation Day.  Just as with the tribal elders who realized what happened, Jeremy witnesses happiness for some and knows he will never feel the same again.  The manipulation of some by others and subsequent subjugation of their humanity is revealed in full force.

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