Cather, Willa (1922). One of Ours. Another novel that shows the “American Story” of the early Twentieth Century, One of Ours is one of the most disturbing war account novels I have read. The American Dream collides with the horrors … Continue reading
Poole, Ernest (1917). His Family. Won first Pulitzer Prize for Novel in 1918. I was reminded of Virginia Woolf’s The Years, but His Family is more personal and slightly less sweeping. The plotting is old-fashioned by today’s standards, but the … Continue reading
Tarkington, Booth (1921). Alice Adams. 1922 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Left with the thought of the fluidity of the American middle class. People work hard to a certain point, then it can come crashing down. The great opportunities presented by our … Continue reading
Scarlet Sister Mary by Julia Peterkin spoke to me. I related to Mary personally; that was surely part of the intention: we all fail. We are all human. And American stories are always about people who don’t or can’t follow … Continue reading
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold. A clever structure, having the victim of the murder the narrator. For the most part it is strong, right on; the story only takes a couple of tired turns, but then the murderer dying … Continue reading
