Congratulations, by the way

''We''re lucky to have him'' Jonathan Franzen
''A morally passionate, serious writer'' Zadie Smith

''Here''s something I know to be true, although it''s a little corny, and I don''t quite know what to do with it: What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.''

Three months after George Saunders gave a convocation address at Syracuse University, a transcript of that speech was posted on the ...