Opinion | The Novelist George Saunders on the Comfort of Truth

What does consolation imply to you? Reality. When you and I are in a cabin and we are able to hear there are wolves exterior. If I say it’s cool, they’re in all probability canines. That’s not consolation. However should you take a look at one another and go, fuck, there’s wolves, that’s consolation. However she doesn’t have the aptitude to speak that to him. I’m very skeptical of this. I’m making an attempt to consider this. That consolation is fact. Yeah. I don’t need to say I’ve by no means been comforted by the reality. Oh, however you, however you — I’ve extra typically been comforted — However you search consolation for it in your work daily. You don’t —you come into work and also you attempt to unravel difficult issues, and also you’re searching for consolation. I don’t discover it comfy. Nicely, however you’re searching for, you’re in organic — you’re searching for homeostasis. That could be proper. You need to calm your self and luxury your self by getting in nearer relation to the reality so the world doesn’t appear so anarchic. When you consider — now, that is getting a bit of deep — however I believe should you say — It’s my hope — I imply, right here’s a query. Whenever you — have you ever ever been comforted by a falsehood? Sure. Which one? Once I was younger, I had a horrible worry of vomiting. And evening after evening, I’d ask my mother and father to vow me earlier than I went to sleep that I wouldn’t throw up. And in that point, I used to be comforted by that. And did it work? I didn’t throw up in these years. In order that they have been telling you the reality. Though proper now, certainly one of my — I by no means even made this connection till the second — however certainly one of my sons requested me to perform a little spell each evening to maintain away unhealthy goals. And it has not at all times labored. It’s just a bit like a rhyme. However I believe — However he’s comforted. He requested me for it each evening anyway. Since you’re engaged on it collectively. In a way, what you’re saying is all can be properly. And I believe that that’s a type of you extending grace to him, which isn’t precisely truthful. The spell isn’t precisely truthful, however the substrate or the muse of the spell is true.