Actually, Greg Proops, for one, regularly roasts Obama on these points in his "Smartest Man in the World" podcast.

T.C. Boyle and Millhauser are indeed great short story writers.  Alice Munro, also great.  I would add Saunders' teacher, Tobias Wolff.  But George Saunders' stuff (including his essays) are the most sheer fun I've had reading except for David Foster Wallace. 

I don't know if the "Semplica Girl Diaries" borrowed some weird angel-gimmick from fan-fiction or not. (I highly doubt it.)  But how Saunders executes the idea is brilliant, and totally his own—it elevates a very good story into a classic.  The way he slowly reveals exactly what the "Semplica Girls" are is genius—and…