adambwriter's review against another edition
3.0
Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
Final Verdict: 2.25 out of 4.0
YTD: 44
Plot/Story:
2 - Plot/Story could work with better development.
Houston, we have a problem. Let me begin my discussion on this books plot and story by allowing the book to speak for itself, as it were. Here is an excerpt from page 487 (Scribner edition) which sums up my thoughts on the whole book:
“I think I am hell, and they say I stink because I have not had a bath. But I could not stink, even if I never had a bath. Only the others stink. My dirtiness is better than their cleanliness. The web of my flesh is finer; my blood is a subtle elixir; the hair of my head, the marrow of my spine, the cunning jointure of my bones, and all the combining jellies, fats, meats, oils, and sinews of my flesh, the spittle of my mouth, the sweat of my skin, is mixed with rarer elements, and is fairer and finer than their gross peasant beef.”
In short, the narrator (Eugene) thinks he is the shit. He believes he is a genius above geniuses – that he walks heads and shoulders, figuratively and literally, since he is rather tall, above anyone he meets – family, especially, but also friends, neighbors, whores, teachers, schoolmates, etc. He reminds me a great deal of Holden Caulfield, without the charming self-deprecation. And, whereas in The Catcher in the Rye we spend most of our time with the narrator, in Look Homeward, Angel, most of our time is spent with Eugene’s family – a large chunk of the story takes place before Eugene’s birth and, even afterward, most of what we are supposed to learn about Eugene comes from interactions with other people. Eugene himself barely makes much appearance until the end of the novel, when things suddenly get wildly metaphysical and conspicuous brush strokes of magical realism close out a novel which is otherwise constrained to the boundaries of Realism and even Naturalism. It was, plain and simple, the most bizarre coming-of-age story I have ever read, and probably the most difficult to read, for two reasons: 1) the character who we are supposed to come-of-age with is rarely a part of the story and 2) when he is a part of the story, he is incredibly obnoxious and self-righteous. He is supposed to be a wunderkind, a literary marvel, but there is no development to show the reader how this came to be, no indication of why we should believe or respect these assertions about Eugene. I am perfectly fine rooting for an awkward, lonely, genius-outsider; but only if I have been given reason to! If more of the story focused on Eugene, rather than his family; and if more time was spent developing the relationship between reader and Eugene – the “why we should care about you, you little over-privileged and seemingly misunderstood snot who gets to go to Harvard for free boo-hoo” then maybe, just maybe, the story could have been great.
Visit www.RoofBeamReader.net for the Full Review
Final Verdict: 2.25 out of 4.0
YTD: 44
Plot/Story:
2 - Plot/Story could work with better development.
Houston, we have a problem. Let me begin my discussion on this books plot and story by allowing the book to speak for itself, as it were. Here is an excerpt from page 487 (Scribner edition) which sums up my thoughts on the whole book:
“I think I am hell, and they say I stink because I have not had a bath. But I could not stink, even if I never had a bath. Only the others stink. My dirtiness is better than their cleanliness. The web of my flesh is finer; my blood is a subtle elixir; the hair of my head, the marrow of my spine, the cunning jointure of my bones, and all the combining jellies, fats, meats, oils, and sinews of my flesh, the spittle of my mouth, the sweat of my skin, is mixed with rarer elements, and is fairer and finer than their gross peasant beef.”
In short, the narrator (Eugene) thinks he is the shit. He believes he is a genius above geniuses – that he walks heads and shoulders, figuratively and literally, since he is rather tall, above anyone he meets – family, especially, but also friends, neighbors, whores, teachers, schoolmates, etc. He reminds me a great deal of Holden Caulfield, without the charming self-deprecation. And, whereas in The Catcher in the Rye we spend most of our time with the narrator, in Look Homeward, Angel, most of our time is spent with Eugene’s family – a large chunk of the story takes place before Eugene’s birth and, even afterward, most of what we are supposed to learn about Eugene comes from interactions with other people. Eugene himself barely makes much appearance until the end of the novel, when things suddenly get wildly metaphysical and conspicuous brush strokes of magical realism close out a novel which is otherwise constrained to the boundaries of Realism and even Naturalism. It was, plain and simple, the most bizarre coming-of-age story I have ever read, and probably the most difficult to read, for two reasons: 1) the character who we are supposed to come-of-age with is rarely a part of the story and 2) when he is a part of the story, he is incredibly obnoxious and self-righteous. He is supposed to be a wunderkind, a literary marvel, but there is no development to show the reader how this came to be, no indication of why we should believe or respect these assertions about Eugene. I am perfectly fine rooting for an awkward, lonely, genius-outsider; but only if I have been given reason to! If more of the story focused on Eugene, rather than his family; and if more time was spent developing the relationship between reader and Eugene – the “why we should care about you, you little over-privileged and seemingly misunderstood snot who gets to go to Harvard for free boo-hoo” then maybe, just maybe, the story could have been great.
Visit www.RoofBeamReader.net for the Full Review
superfamoustia's review against another edition
5.0
Big & full & vibrant & courageous & beautiful. A book bursting with LIFE and TRUTH.
rachelp's review against another edition
2.0
I was kind of disappointed in this book. The author had such way with words. The descriptions were beautiful. But there really wasn't much of a plot. The story was incredibly slow and hard to get through. There were parts that really grabbed my interest, but they only seemed to last a page or two before it became boring again.
auntiewhispers's review
4.0
I have such fond memories of playing Eliza Gant in my high school production of this show so I may be a tad biased.
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