‘Fox 8’ was my introduction to George Saunders, when the story was printed in The Guardian in 2017. While Fox 8 himself – whose fox family all go by numbers – is sassy, funny, and optimistic, his optimism is shaken by the ecological destruction done by Yumans as they build their Par King and Mawl, so he decides to write a letter to the Yumans, telling them how it is for the foxes.
Some may be put off by Fox 8’s unique spellings – try not to be. The spellings add a huge amount to the story, not least atmosphere.
“Deer Reeder:
First may I say, sorry for any werds I spel rong. Because I am a fox! So don’t rite or spel perfect. But here is how I lerned to rite and spel as gud as I do!…”
First published in The Guardian in 2017, and in print as a standalone, Fox 8, Bloomsbury, 2018. You can listen to it here, read by George Saunders himself, but you lose the amazing spellings
A Personal Anthology 