The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil

'An American short-story writer of intimidating talent' Zadie Smith 'Graceful, dark, authentic and funny' Thomas Pynchon 'You do not read Saunders' stories so much as watch them detonate on the page in front of you, like a firecracker some joker has slipped into your pudding' New Statesman From the No. 1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the novel Lincoln in the Bardo , and the story collection Tenth of December , winner of the Folio Prize for Fiction 2014 Welcome to Inner Horner, a nation so small it can only accommodate one citizen at a time. But when Inner Horner suddenly shrinks, forcing three-quarters of the citizen in residence over the border into Outer Horner territory, the Outer Hornerites declare an Invasion in Progress, having fallen under the spell of the power-hungry and demagogic Phil. So begins his brief and very frightening reign... A surreal and incisive satire by the Booker Prize-winning author whose work illuminates the strangest and most darkly funny corners of our reality.