Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
International Collectors Library (1960), Hardcover, 227 pages
Description
Classic Literature. Fiction. Short Stories. HTML: Winesburg, Ohio is a series of loosely linked short stories set in the fictional town of Winesburg. The stories are held together by George Willard, a resident to whom the community confide their personal stories and struggles. The townspeople are withdrawn and emotionally repressed and attempt in telling their stories to gain some sense of meaning and dignity in an otherwise desperate life. The work has received high critical acclaim and is considered one of the great American works of the 20th century..
Media reviews
In the autumn of 1915, while living in a bohemian boardinghouse on Chicago’s Near North Side, Sherwood Anderson began work on a collection of tales describing the tortured lives of the inhabitants of Winesburg, a fictional Ohio town, in the 1890s. Drawing on his own experience growing up in the
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agricultural hamlet of Clyde, Ohio, he breathed life into a band of neurotic castaways adrift on the flatlands of the Midwest, each of them in their own way struggling — and failing — to locate meaning, personal connection and love amid the town’s elm-shaded streets. Show Less
Barely a day has passed in more than 20 years during which my thoughts haven’t turned, however fleetingly, to Anderson, “the minor author of a minor masterpiece,” as he once described himself. Winesburg has become my life’s great literary obsession, though for reasons that remain obscure
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even to me. Show Less
Het boek kent enkele zich nogal herhalende thema’s en lijdt wat onder de afwezigheid van de psychologische inzichten die de er opvolgende decennia gemeengoed zouden worden. Toch heeft deze terechte heruitgave meer dan louter literair historische waarde. Het toont een Amerika op de historische
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grens van een agrarische naar een industriële samenleving, en het toont de onmacht, de hopeloos lijkende ontsnappingsstrategieën, de dieptrieste psychologische problematiek van het voetvolk dat nooit erkenning zou krijgen in het Amerikaanse succesverhaal. Sherwood Anderson zal dit nooit als oogmerk hebben gehad, omdat hij het lot van zijn personages als universeel zag en dat met veel mededogen noteerde. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member deebee1
Considered to be the first American "modern" novel and a masterpiece of 20th century American literature, the book consists of a collection of loosely related short stories of inhabitants of a rural town in the Midwest in the 1900s. Here, Anderson breaks away from two traditions: the use of plot as
The stories are told to George Willard, a young newspaperman aspiring to be a writer, who seem to draw others into him perhaps because of his sensitivity or being a writer, simply somebody who could understand. From their stories, we see a depiction of alienation, of loneliness, of inner struggles, of unexpressed desires, of unfulfilled sex lives, of frustrated ambitions. We see that each strives for happiness but never quite reaches it, and immediately we sense even from the first stories that their being inarticulate is a common trait that prevents this from happening. Beneath a seeming quiet life is a passionate, tormented soul. The failure to connect is a recurring theme. In attempting to relate their narratives to George, we feel that the characters are trying to inject some meaning into their empty lives.
Among others, there is a tale of the old writer who wants to write "a book of grotesques", and a four-part narrative of religious fervor that parodies the biblical tales of Abraham's sacrificing of Isaac, and David and Goliath.
The variations of stories of inner fervor but repressed wills are bleak and can be depressing at times. And it almost seems improbable that a town could be peopled at once with so many odd characters, bizarre and angst-ridden individuals. But the book does leave much for thought, and even if we perhaps don't care to admit it, the themes of alienation and frustration are something we recognize, to varying degrees, in our own individual, modern lives.
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the focal point and themes about the gentility and romantic and ideal views of rural life. The stories are told to George Willard, a young newspaperman aspiring to be a writer, who seem to draw others into him perhaps because of his sensitivity or being a writer, simply somebody who could understand. From their stories, we see a depiction of alienation, of loneliness, of inner struggles, of unexpressed desires, of unfulfilled sex lives, of frustrated ambitions. We see that each strives for happiness but never quite reaches it, and immediately we sense even from the first stories that their being inarticulate is a common trait that prevents this from happening. Beneath a seeming quiet life is a passionate, tormented soul. The failure to connect is a recurring theme. In attempting to relate their narratives to George, we feel that the characters are trying to inject some meaning into their empty lives.
Among others, there is a tale of the old writer who wants to write "a book of grotesques", and a four-part narrative of religious fervor that parodies the biblical tales of Abraham's sacrificing of Isaac, and David and Goliath.
The variations of stories of inner fervor but repressed wills are bleak and can be depressing at times. And it almost seems improbable that a town could be peopled at once with so many odd characters, bizarre and angst-ridden individuals. But the book does leave much for thought, and even if we perhaps don't care to admit it, the themes of alienation and frustration are something we recognize, to varying degrees, in our own individual, modern lives.
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LibraryThing member atheist_goat
It's as if Ernest Hemingway and Flannery O'Connor had a child, and that child was not very talented.
LibraryThing member richardderus
Anderson's influence on both Faulkner and Hemingway is very clear. He's got a deft hand with characterization, but he's not quite the craftsman that Faulkner would prove to be...his jumps in time feel like boo-boos, not choices. And he's not quite the storyteller Hemingway would prove to be, miring
I long to see an "American Masterpiece Theatre" created, and the stories here dramatized for it. Would win Golden Globes and Peabodys and such-like prestige awards, done well.
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himself in the quotidian and missing the many opportunities to universalize his characters' angst the way ol' Ernie did.I long to see an "American Masterpiece Theatre" created, and the stories here dramatized for it. Would win Golden Globes and Peabodys and such-like prestige awards, done well.
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LibraryThing member BirdBrian
I loved Infinite Jest, so naturally I loved Winesburg, Ohio. Sherwood Anderson is clearly David Foster Wallace’s doppelganger, displaced eighty years in the past, and two states away, but possessing a very similar melancholy sense of humanity, and even a kindred narrative style. The more I
Are these parallels too much of a stretch? Too reductive? Maybe these two novels aren’t as similar as all that.. but they do have common themes, and more than anything else, they both leave me with a sense that Nature and History have ganged up to play a cruel joke on many of us: making us on one hand genetically and socially conditioned to congregate in packs, but on the other hand shaping our society to be so rigidly hierarchical, so full of oppressive demands and expectations, and governed by such complex unspoken nuances of manner and custom that the whole process of socializing and getting along in large groups hardly feels achievable to many, and hardly seems worthwhile to many others. Most of us ultimately find a livable balance between inputs and outputs: a tolerable equilibrium between the mental and physical energy we must expend, and the social and material life that they buy for us. We don’t quite live out our wildest dreams, but we get enough of what we need to soldier on. Frequently this involves either accepting that we can’t "have it all", or redefining our idea of what "having it all" means.
That’s great for those who make it, but society and economics are hard, and not everybody ends up with the "happy-enough" ending. Some people give up on the standard prizes… the proverbial 2.3 kids and the house in the suburbs with the white picket fence. They follow some other dream, God bless ‘em, and some find their own happiness. Hermits, starving artists, nuns, and other eccentrics essentially say "fuck it". They haven’t found conventional happiness, and they’re done trying. I’m not sure whether this represents victory or defeat. Regardless, this book isn’t about those people; this book is about the people who can’t seem to attain the orthodox version of happiness, but don’t have a better dream to replace it with. It’s people who can’t quite master the rules of social success, but can’t or won't reject mainstream civilization and its prizes either.They keep following society’s rules, knowing on some level that the game is rigged against them, but following nonetheless, because they lack either the courage or imagination to take another path. Consider Ray Pearson: miserably married for decades to the girl he got pregnant, in a fleeting moment of passion. Consider Elmer Cowly: painfully awkward and overly-self conscious, who leaves his family and a secure job to head off into the night, dreaming of a distant city, where he might "… get work in some shop and become friends with the other workmen and would be indistinguishable. Then he could talk and laugh. He would no longer be queer and would make friends. Life would begin to have warmth and meaning for him as it had others." God damn; is that the saddest thing you’ve ever heard? It’s not so different from the kids at the Enfield Tennis Academy in Infinite Jest, is it? Those kids leave their families to attend the prestigious academy, placing all their hopes for deferred happiness in the dream of a career in professional tennis,"…this game the players are all at E.T.A. to learn, this infinite system of decisions and angles and lines Mario’s brothers worked so brutishly hard to master: junior athletics is but one facet of the real gem: life’s endless war against the self you cannot live without." Fuck. Kill me now, if that’s what it’s all about.
This isn’t a philosophy book, but it’s written by an observant and philosophical author. I don’t directly identify with any of the characters; I’m generally satisfied with my life, even if the review suggests otherwise. So why did these assorted vignettes about sad, disenfranchised characters touch me so? Probably because I think our social systems deserve to have their warts pointed out. They’ve evolved as a successful way to maintain order over time, which has some benefits for the community at large, but is frequently cruel and stifling to the individual, who may pay a high price for overrated things like acceptance and a sense of belonging. Sherwood Anderson seems to be telling the great abstract System that it’s not as fucking awesome as it thinks it is; and even though I’ve bought into it (or sold out to it) in many ways, there’s a part of me which still holds out against it, and which thinks the System deserves this tongue lashing, and probably a lot worse.
-Thanks, David!
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reflect on these two novels, the more parallels I find. One’s about drugs, entertainment, and sexual deviance in fast-paced urban Boston of the near future. The other’s about isolation, disappointment and sexual repression in the leisurely and pastoral Winesburg, Ohio of circa 1915. Their window dressings may differ, but their hearts are both pervaded with a deep sense of loneliness and disconnection. Unconvinced? Let me see if I can persuade you. While both novels tend to bounce around between multiple story threads, some of which connect up in unexpected ways, each has a frontrunner candidate for the title of protagonist. Hal Incandenza and George Willard are both intelligent young men, raised by distant mothers and successful yet frustrated fathers. Each stands on the doorstep of adulthood, raked with uncertainty about how to go forward, and scarred by upbringings which have left them poorly-equipped emotionally to form healthy adult relationships. Both books contain naïve young women betrayed by their lovers. Alice Hindman lies on her bed, staring nightly at the wall, waiting in despair for years, abandoned and forgotten by Ned Currie, who really only ever wanted to bed her and move on. Joelle Van Dyne struggles alone with addiction and the bittersweet memories of Orin Incandenza, who bedded her, disfigured her, and has definitely moved on. Infinite Jest has Don Gately- the perpetually despondent rehab counselor, whose past secrets (drug addiction and manslaughter) impede him from forming close interpersonal bonds. Winesburg, Ohio has Wing Biddlebaum, a perpetually introverted and fidgety recluse, whose past secrets (untrue accusations that he molested students as a teacher) impede him from forming close interpersonal bonds.Are these parallels too much of a stretch? Too reductive? Maybe these two novels aren’t as similar as all that.. but they do have common themes, and more than anything else, they both leave me with a sense that Nature and History have ganged up to play a cruel joke on many of us: making us on one hand genetically and socially conditioned to congregate in packs, but on the other hand shaping our society to be so rigidly hierarchical, so full of oppressive demands and expectations, and governed by such complex unspoken nuances of manner and custom that the whole process of socializing and getting along in large groups hardly feels achievable to many, and hardly seems worthwhile to many others. Most of us ultimately find a livable balance between inputs and outputs: a tolerable equilibrium between the mental and physical energy we must expend, and the social and material life that they buy for us. We don’t quite live out our wildest dreams, but we get enough of what we need to soldier on. Frequently this involves either accepting that we can’t "have it all", or redefining our idea of what "having it all" means.
That’s great for those who make it, but society and economics are hard, and not everybody ends up with the "happy-enough" ending. Some people give up on the standard prizes… the proverbial 2.3 kids and the house in the suburbs with the white picket fence. They follow some other dream, God bless ‘em, and some find their own happiness. Hermits, starving artists, nuns, and other eccentrics essentially say "fuck it". They haven’t found conventional happiness, and they’re done trying. I’m not sure whether this represents victory or defeat. Regardless, this book isn’t about those people; this book is about the people who can’t seem to attain the orthodox version of happiness, but don’t have a better dream to replace it with. It’s people who can’t quite master the rules of social success, but can’t or won't reject mainstream civilization and its prizes either.They keep following society’s rules, knowing on some level that the game is rigged against them, but following nonetheless, because they lack either the courage or imagination to take another path. Consider Ray Pearson: miserably married for decades to the girl he got pregnant, in a fleeting moment of passion. Consider Elmer Cowly: painfully awkward and overly-self conscious, who leaves his family and a secure job to head off into the night, dreaming of a distant city, where he might "… get work in some shop and become friends with the other workmen and would be indistinguishable. Then he could talk and laugh. He would no longer be queer and would make friends. Life would begin to have warmth and meaning for him as it had others." God damn; is that the saddest thing you’ve ever heard? It’s not so different from the kids at the Enfield Tennis Academy in Infinite Jest, is it? Those kids leave their families to attend the prestigious academy, placing all their hopes for deferred happiness in the dream of a career in professional tennis,"…this game the players are all at E.T.A. to learn, this infinite system of decisions and angles and lines Mario’s brothers worked so brutishly hard to master: junior athletics is but one facet of the real gem: life’s endless war against the self you cannot live without." Fuck. Kill me now, if that’s what it’s all about.
This isn’t a philosophy book, but it’s written by an observant and philosophical author. I don’t directly identify with any of the characters; I’m generally satisfied with my life, even if the review suggests otherwise. So why did these assorted vignettes about sad, disenfranchised characters touch me so? Probably because I think our social systems deserve to have their warts pointed out. They’ve evolved as a successful way to maintain order over time, which has some benefits for the community at large, but is frequently cruel and stifling to the individual, who may pay a high price for overrated things like acceptance and a sense of belonging. Sherwood Anderson seems to be telling the great abstract System that it’s not as fucking awesome as it thinks it is; and even though I’ve bought into it (or sold out to it) in many ways, there’s a part of me which still holds out against it, and which thinks the System deserves this tongue lashing, and probably a lot worse.
-Thanks, David!
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson was originally published in 1919 and consists of 22 short stories loosely connected by setting and characters. One character, George Willard, appears in all but 6 of the stories, and we read about his growing up years and his observations in the small fictional
Anderson is reputed to have strongly influenced authors such as Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck and Wolfe by his modern style of writing. Nothing here is over-written or padded with flowery descriptions. The themes that Anderson explores are mostly connected with the inability to communicate and feeling that one doesn’t fit in. While on the surface life moves gently along in this small town, underneath there is darkness, jealousy, and unfulfilled yearnings.
While I can certainly see the uniqueness of Winesburg, Ohio, I can’t say that I enjoyed the book as I found the various stories rather depressing. Personally I would have preferred some of the stories to express a little lightness or humor but these loosely connected stories about the troubled characters of Winesburg, Ohio is well worth the read.
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town of Winesburg, Ohio. From the moment of reading the first story, “The Book of the Grotesque” the author sets the stage for his series of less than flattering stories about the loneliness and isolation that can exist in a small town.Anderson is reputed to have strongly influenced authors such as Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck and Wolfe by his modern style of writing. Nothing here is over-written or padded with flowery descriptions. The themes that Anderson explores are mostly connected with the inability to communicate and feeling that one doesn’t fit in. While on the surface life moves gently along in this small town, underneath there is darkness, jealousy, and unfulfilled yearnings.
While I can certainly see the uniqueness of Winesburg, Ohio, I can’t say that I enjoyed the book as I found the various stories rather depressing. Personally I would have preferred some of the stories to express a little lightness or humor but these loosely connected stories about the troubled characters of Winesburg, Ohio is well worth the read.
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LibraryThing member ReneeRobinson
WINESBURG, OHIO-by Sherwood Anderson 479 -12706019
I was skeptical of this book because I thought the title sounded dull and the generic title even more dull-dom. However, I decided to read it only because I am from a small town in Ohio. It turns out, I am happy I live in Ohio.
The stories are
I was skeptical of this book because I thought the title sounded dull and the generic title even more dull-dom. However, I decided to read it only because I am from a small town in Ohio. It turns out, I am happy I live in Ohio.
The stories are
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detailed with realistic, well-rounded characters. Typically I steer away from short stories as many times it seems the endings are simple cutoff. This author delivers. His stories, though short, are well formed and entertaining. I was taken back to a different time of life, perhaps better in some ways as I read through. Show Less
LibraryThing member jackkane
Anderson tells it the way it is for the ordinary folks of a small provincial town: life is bland and bleak, marked by boredom and sexual repression. Intermittent joys are all one has to hope for inside the dull pain of existence. The only way out is by leaving town, and, as Anderson suggests, life
The problem is that that's as far as Anderson gets. By the middle of the collection, he has said what he has to say and from then on he keeps repeating himself. The characters' incoherent blabbering ("You'll know what I mean! You see, what I mean is, you know what I mean!") becomes unbearable towards the end. The characters become indistinguishable. They are all grotesque, surrendered, pathetic. They accept suffering, without ever rebelling or even just asking why they have to suffer. There is no disgust or anger at life in Winesberg, there is no humor as a coping tool, there is almost no dignity to be preserved. Rather than a complete, coherent book, the collection is a single overdrawn and overstretched good scene.
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in New York and Cleveland isn't much different. As a picture of Anderson's memory of the Midwest at the turn of the 20th century, and as an attempt at dealing with taboo subject matters, 'Winesberg, Ohio' succeeds.The problem is that that's as far as Anderson gets. By the middle of the collection, he has said what he has to say and from then on he keeps repeating himself. The characters' incoherent blabbering ("You'll know what I mean! You see, what I mean is, you know what I mean!") becomes unbearable towards the end. The characters become indistinguishable. They are all grotesque, surrendered, pathetic. They accept suffering, without ever rebelling or even just asking why they have to suffer. There is no disgust or anger at life in Winesberg, there is no humor as a coping tool, there is almost no dignity to be preserved. Rather than a complete, coherent book, the collection is a single overdrawn and overstretched good scene.
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LibraryThing member JVioland
This book has much of Elyria, Ohio in it. At least that seems to be the case. I was raised in Elyria and Anderson writes of a typical turn-of-the-century (last century, that is) American Midwest city with its prejudices and glories. If one wishes to understand the evolution of the American being,
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read this book. Show Less
LibraryThing member KidSisyphus
THE BEST LAID PLANS
A man and woman meet at a bar. They begin to talk and learn that each has trouble staying in long-term relationships because their sexual tastes are considered deviant. Excited, they decide to return to the woman’s apartment. After a bit of heavy petting, the woman excuses
*****
Bakersfield, California
The man closes the book. He is at the car wash. His daughter dances in front of him, hopping from colored tile to colored tile in the run down, if air conditioned, interior of the building. He remembers the dreams of youth.
He remembers standing on a hillside in Corona Del Mar and looking down upon a gigantic house under construction as his father tells him he is meant to be a writer. A plywood turret of what is to become a huge personal library is framed by the hazy blue of the Pacific Ocean. The house will be that of Dean Koontz, who would go on to write the Afterword for the 2005 Signet Classic Edition of Winesburg, Ohio.
The man remembers boyhood, when the dream of being a writer was new. He is eleven. He and his parents have moved to the working class community of South Gate. For the first time, he applies himself to his schoolwork. He wins a city-wide essay contest and is rewarded with an article in the newspaper and a free lasagna dinner. His parents, whose marriage is failing, declare a temporary truce and whisper with one another about their destined-for-greatness son. Almost as impressively, a biologically precocious Latina he goes to school with named Claudia asks him to sleep with her. Blushing, he buries his head in his desk. He does not know what it is to sleep with a girl, he only knows that Catherine Bach of Dukes of Hazard fame has made him feel funny on several different occasions.
One day he is accosted at the school bus stop by another boy named Jose who is jealous of the attentions of the resident alpha-female. Jose is beaten bloody and chased home by the boy. The school bus shows up just as Jose's family spill from their house, whipped into a bloodlust that the most fervent mujahideen would envy. As the eldest brother approaches the departing bus, his eyes meet the boy's through a window. The boy answers his foreign slanders by sticking out his tongue.
The boy did not become a writer. The man he became thinks of all the things he has left unsaid and of all the feelings he has never shown. He is at the hardware store. He buys a drain snake because his Hispanic wife's hair has clogged the shower. He is mildly irked, but he loves her. He loves his daughter. He loves his life. Old friends are coming over today and he will laugh. He thinks that anyone who has read Winesburg, Ohio and given it less than four stars probably only has sex like Jesus is in the room working the lights.
A man and woman meet at a bar. They begin to talk and learn that each has trouble staying in long-term relationships because their sexual tastes are considered deviant. Excited, they decide to return to the woman’s apartment. After a bit of heavy petting, the woman excuses
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herself to her bedroom, promising to return wearing something more appropriate. Minutes pass and the woman emerges from her room in dominatrix attire to find the man nude, spent and smoking a cigarette. Incensed, she admonishes him for finishing without her. He replies, "Lady, I don’t know what your idea of kinky is but I just fucked your cat and shit in your purse."*****
Bakersfield, California
The man closes the book. He is at the car wash. His daughter dances in front of him, hopping from colored tile to colored tile in the run down, if air conditioned, interior of the building. He remembers the dreams of youth.
He remembers standing on a hillside in Corona Del Mar and looking down upon a gigantic house under construction as his father tells him he is meant to be a writer. A plywood turret of what is to become a huge personal library is framed by the hazy blue of the Pacific Ocean. The house will be that of Dean Koontz, who would go on to write the Afterword for the 2005 Signet Classic Edition of Winesburg, Ohio.
The man remembers boyhood, when the dream of being a writer was new. He is eleven. He and his parents have moved to the working class community of South Gate. For the first time, he applies himself to his schoolwork. He wins a city-wide essay contest and is rewarded with an article in the newspaper and a free lasagna dinner. His parents, whose marriage is failing, declare a temporary truce and whisper with one another about their destined-for-greatness son. Almost as impressively, a biologically precocious Latina he goes to school with named Claudia asks him to sleep with her. Blushing, he buries his head in his desk. He does not know what it is to sleep with a girl, he only knows that Catherine Bach of Dukes of Hazard fame has made him feel funny on several different occasions.
One day he is accosted at the school bus stop by another boy named Jose who is jealous of the attentions of the resident alpha-female. Jose is beaten bloody and chased home by the boy. The school bus shows up just as Jose's family spill from their house, whipped into a bloodlust that the most fervent mujahideen would envy. As the eldest brother approaches the departing bus, his eyes meet the boy's through a window. The boy answers his foreign slanders by sticking out his tongue.
The boy did not become a writer. The man he became thinks of all the things he has left unsaid and of all the feelings he has never shown. He is at the hardware store. He buys a drain snake because his Hispanic wife's hair has clogged the shower. He is mildly irked, but he loves her. He loves his daughter. He loves his life. Old friends are coming over today and he will laugh. He thinks that anyone who has read Winesburg, Ohio and given it less than four stars probably only has sex like Jesus is in the room working the lights.
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LibraryThing member ShaggyDog
What an unbelievably beautiful book! It's the kind of book that makes you want to be a writer.
LibraryThing member lgaikwad
Some favorite quotes:
"All men lead their lives behind a wall of misunderstanding they have themselves built, and most men die in silence and unnoticed behind the walls."
"...the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, he called it his truth, and tried to live by it, he became a
"Only the few knew the sweetness of the twisted apples."
"Be Tandy, little one," he pleaded. "Dare to be strong and courageous. That is the road. Venture anything. Be brave enough to dare to be loved. Be something more than man or woman. Be Tandy."
"I was furious. I couldn't stand it. I wanted her to understand but, don't you see, I couldn't let her understand. I felt that then she would know everything, that I would be submerged, drowned out, you see. That's how it is. I don't know why."
"Things went to smash," he said quietly and sadly. "Out she went through the door and all the life there had been in the room followed her out."
"...and Hall had suddently become alive when they stood in the corn field stating into each other's eyes."
"Love is like a wind stirring the grass beneath trees on a black night," he had said. "You must not try to make love definite. It is the divine accident of life. If you try to be definite and sure about it and to live beneath the trees, where soft night winds blow, the long hot day of disappointment comes swiftly..."
"I have come to this lonely place and here is this other," was the substance of the thing felt.
"...the town of Winesburg had disappeared and his there had become but a background on which to paint the dreams of his manhood."
"All men lead their lives behind a wall of misunderstanding they have themselves built, and most men die in silence and unnoticed behind the walls."
"...the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, he called it his truth, and tried to live by it, he became a
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grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood.""Only the few knew the sweetness of the twisted apples."
"Be Tandy, little one," he pleaded. "Dare to be strong and courageous. That is the road. Venture anything. Be brave enough to dare to be loved. Be something more than man or woman. Be Tandy."
"I was furious. I couldn't stand it. I wanted her to understand but, don't you see, I couldn't let her understand. I felt that then she would know everything, that I would be submerged, drowned out, you see. That's how it is. I don't know why."
"Things went to smash," he said quietly and sadly. "Out she went through the door and all the life there had been in the room followed her out."
"...and Hall had suddently become alive when they stood in the corn field stating into each other's eyes."
"Love is like a wind stirring the grass beneath trees on a black night," he had said. "You must not try to make love definite. It is the divine accident of life. If you try to be definite and sure about it and to live beneath the trees, where soft night winds blow, the long hot day of disappointment comes swiftly..."
"I have come to this lonely place and here is this other," was the substance of the thing felt.
"...the town of Winesburg had disappeared and his there had become but a background on which to paint the dreams of his manhood."
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LibraryThing member jscape2000
Much better than I expected. This book of short stories both showed its age and defied it. It was packed with more sex, more honestly confused people, and more ambiguous moments than I expected. At the same time, that sex, confusion, and ambiguity was more obviously privileged, white, and male than
In the penultimate story, the narrator observes of a young woman, "it seemed to her that the world was full of meaningless people saying words." Perhaps this applies to all the characters in the novel, or perhaps we're encouraged to believe that young newspaper reporter who is nearly the main character and seems to be the chronicler of the town's adventures is a different sort of man.
Such moments of keen insight were too often surrounded by passages that feel more subtly sinister in the winter of 2017:
"The young man took Mary Hardy into his arms and kissed her. When she struggled and laughed, he but held her the more tightly. For an hour the contest between them went on..."
Over and over, women are waiting for men to deliver them from their lives. Maybe that is merely an accurate reflection of a time when women couldn't vote, unmarried women could rarely own property or conduct business, and rarely attended college. But at several moments in the story, it all felt more sinister to me.
I wish I'd read these stories a decade ago. I suspect I would have loved them without the complicated mixed emotions I have now.
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I was comfortable with.In the penultimate story, the narrator observes of a young woman, "it seemed to her that the world was full of meaningless people saying words." Perhaps this applies to all the characters in the novel, or perhaps we're encouraged to believe that young newspaper reporter who is nearly the main character and seems to be the chronicler of the town's adventures is a different sort of man.
Such moments of keen insight were too often surrounded by passages that feel more subtly sinister in the winter of 2017:
"The young man took Mary Hardy into his arms and kissed her. When she struggled and laughed, he but held her the more tightly. For an hour the contest between them went on..."
Over and over, women are waiting for men to deliver them from their lives. Maybe that is merely an accurate reflection of a time when women couldn't vote, unmarried women could rarely own property or conduct business, and rarely attended college. But at several moments in the story, it all felt more sinister to me.
I wish I'd read these stories a decade ago. I suspect I would have loved them without the complicated mixed emotions I have now.
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LibraryThing member jsnrcrny
This is a wonderful book because it captures the feeling of early 20th century small town America so pointedly. The stories, although independent narratives in themselves, work together to portray the multifaceted life of what might appear to be, on first gloss, a homogeneous town of everyday,
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garden variety farming folk of the 1910s. I am particularly fond of this book because I have lived in Ohio all my life, and many of the references to places and cities are locations that I've actually visited--Dayton, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Muncie. That was refreshing and interesting for somewhat nameless reasons. Often, when reading a thick Victorian novel and I gloss over a reference to, say, Charlesbury Abbey--or some such reference--I sigh and can't help but wonder to what extent do the insights offered in the story apply to me, an American, a Midwesterner. Despite the fact that stories that are set in England, Germany, Rome, etc., do offer all sorts of relevant wisdom and aesthetic pleasure irrespective of the geographical and cultural distance of their birth, their writing, it is refreshing sometimes to read a book that is both profound and set right around the corner. It reminds the reader that the mundane view of their immediate surroundings, ossified by being immersed in it so long, isn't totally accurate. A Midwestern Ohio town, although on the surface void of history and populated by what appear to be mindless, heartless consumer-bots, might possess a rich, insightful, and beautiful past. Show Less
LibraryThing member franoscar
Part of book project. Not quite what I expected. The writing style seems stylized, and the guy who wrote the introduction seemed to be copying it. It is interesting how much it deals with sex, particularly woman's desire and woman's agency. I guess that is the new realism and why the Introduction
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(I didn't read this edition, I read a Modern Library edition with an Intro by Ernest Boyd) was so irritatingly & stupidly focused on this being the real realism and the stuff that went before being so wimpy and so reflective of the buoyant irrational optimism in American culture. There was a little bit, a hint, of the Vidalian view of women as trapping men & forcing them into being part of society. But perhaps because I am too old I didn't find George Willard particularly compelling & clearly Anderson did. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jthierer
Lovely. Find a copy of this book and read it immediately.
LibraryThing member Kristelh
Series of interconnected stories set in the early part of the 20th century (preindustrial) small town, Ohio. Themes of loneliness and isolation even though these characters are living in a small town.The work is structured around the life of protagonist George Willard, from the time he was a child
The cycle consists of twenty-two short stories, one of which consists of four parts:[note 1]
The Book of the Grotesque
Hands—concerning Wing Biddlebaum
Paper Pills—concerning Doctor Reefy
Mother—concerning Elizabeth Willard
The Philosopher—concerning Doctor Parcival
Nobody Knows—concerning Louise Trunnion
Godliness
Parts I and II—concerning Jesse Bentley
Surrender (Part III)—concerning Louise Bentley
Terror (Part IV)—concerning David Hardy
A Man of Ideas—concerning Joe Welling
Adventure—concerning Alice Hindman
Respectability—concerning Wash Williams
The Thinker—concerning Seth Richmond
Tandy—concerning Tandy Hard
The Strength of God—concerning The Reverend Curtis Hartman
The Teacher—concerning Kate Swift
Loneliness—concerning Enoch Robinson
An Awakening—concerning Belle Carpenter
"Queer"—concerning Elmer Cowley
The Untold Lie—concerning Ray Pearson
Drink—concerning Tom Foster
Death—concerning Doctor Reefy and Elizabeth Willard
Sophistication—concerning Helen White
Departure—concerning George Willard
Written third person omniscient narrative.
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to his growing independence and ultimate abandonment of Winesburg as a young man.Because of its emphasis on the psychological insights of characters over plot, and plain spoken prose, Winesburg, Ohio is known as one of the earliest works of Modernist literature. It is also a forerunner of the novel made up of a bunch of interconnected short stories. The cycle consists of twenty-two short stories, one of which consists of four parts:[note 1]
The Book of the Grotesque
Hands—concerning Wing Biddlebaum
Paper Pills—concerning Doctor Reefy
Mother—concerning Elizabeth Willard
The Philosopher—concerning Doctor Parcival
Nobody Knows—concerning Louise Trunnion
Godliness
Parts I and II—concerning Jesse Bentley
Surrender (Part III)—concerning Louise Bentley
Terror (Part IV)—concerning David Hardy
A Man of Ideas—concerning Joe Welling
Adventure—concerning Alice Hindman
Respectability—concerning Wash Williams
The Thinker—concerning Seth Richmond
Tandy—concerning Tandy Hard
The Strength of God—concerning The Reverend Curtis Hartman
The Teacher—concerning Kate Swift
Loneliness—concerning Enoch Robinson
An Awakening—concerning Belle Carpenter
"Queer"—concerning Elmer Cowley
The Untold Lie—concerning Ray Pearson
Drink—concerning Tom Foster
Death—concerning Doctor Reefy and Elizabeth Willard
Sophistication—concerning Helen White
Departure—concerning George Willard
Written third person omniscient narrative.
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LibraryThing member wvlibrarydude
The other reviews here are much better written, and give a better analysis of this work's place in the canon of American Literature. On a purely personal level, I really enjoyed the way Anderson dovetailed the chapters together into a tight piece of character work. By focusing on the characters,
A very well written book, that I will revisit in the future. The only draw back on it was the frank bleakness of the lives and loves. I believe this is why it took me three tries to actually get started and finish the book. It has sat on the shelf for almost 17 years begging to be read, but each time I started I had a bad taste I didn't feel comfortable swallowing, so .... patooie... it was spit out. This time I kept going with determination and came away much more satisfied than I thought I would.
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one is able to get at a larger truth that escapes many of the individual "grotesques."A very well written book, that I will revisit in the future. The only draw back on it was the frank bleakness of the lives and loves. I believe this is why it took me three tries to actually get started and finish the book. It has sat on the shelf for almost 17 years begging to be read, but each time I started I had a bad taste I didn't feel comfortable swallowing, so .... patooie... it was spit out. This time I kept going with determination and came away much more satisfied than I thought I would.
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LibraryThing member marti.booker
I trudged through this. I'm sure it was quite realistic and risque in 1919, but the repeated hand imagery annoyed me, as did the whole premise of trying to describe the inner emotional lives of interconnected people in vignettes. Give me PLOT, please! And don't tell me it was a coming of age story,
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George was an idiot. Show Less
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
I first read this book when I was in high school and have read it again since. From the beginning it struck me as a serious work of literature but only upon rereading it and reading more extensively authors who were influenced by Anderson have I come to some appreciation for his true greatness.
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Winesburg, Ohio depicts the strange, secret lives of the inhabitants of a small town. In "Hands," Wing Biddlebaum tries to hide the tale of his banishment from a Pennsylvania town, a tale represented by his hands. In "Adventure," lonely Alice Hindman impulsively walks naked into the night rain. Threaded through the stories is the viewpoint of George Willard, the young newspaper reporter who, like his creator, stands witness to the dark and despairing dealings of a community of isolated people. Each of the tales shines a clear light on the character of an inhabitant and you come to know Winesburg almost as well as your own home town. Growing up in a small midwestern town I never forgot the feeling this book gave me. Show Less
LibraryThing member jddunn
Restrained, finely crafted, genuine stories about moral and social isolation in small town, turn-of-the-century America, and the lengths people were driven to to combat it. Kind of desolate and depressing, but the humanity and tension of the solitary battles portrayed is very worthwhile. Reminds me
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of Hemingway's short work, only with much more emotional intelligence, or maybe Carson McCullers' portraits of people fighting similar circumstances in the South. Show Less
LibraryThing member MSarki
I believe Mr Anderson is a very talented writer. I also think he touched on many subjects of interest to me and others. But, for the most part, as charming as it was and well-written, I felt it all too soft for me, kind of like a Little House on the Prairie if you want to know the truth. Perhaps a
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bit too sentimental and even a bit too romantic for me. I like dirt and music that not only lifts me but spreads a soiling on me too permanent to rub off. But I shall see how the book progresses in the further regions of my mind as it gestates, or not, come what may. Certainly a book worth reading and definitely a precursor to what was to come in the literary field of its time. Show Less
LibraryThing member mabroms
Oddly compelling set of very short stories set in rural America at the dawn of agricultural industrialization. Themes center on love, family religion, values and lack thereof. Also a kind of one hit wonder for Anderson.
LibraryThing member shulera1
Anderson shows a deep understanding of people and what drives them. Each character is unique and filled out so completely that I feel as though I understand every one on a level much deeper than the length of their presence in the book would suggest. Their is also an attention to language in the
My favorite quote from the books comes from the chapter titled "Death, concerning Doctor Reefy and Elizabeth Willard":
"Their bodies were different, as were also the color of their eyes, the length of their noses, and the circumstances of their existence, but something inside them meant the same thing, wanted the same release, would have left the same impression on the memory of an onlooker.
I would suggest this to anyone looking to feel less alone in the world, anyone who is confused and feels lost, or anyone who just needs something they can't explain.
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prose that is lovely to read. It's not always poetic, but it is always beautiful, and it cuts through to the heart of whatever is being said in that moment.My favorite quote from the books comes from the chapter titled "Death, concerning Doctor Reefy and Elizabeth Willard":
"Their bodies were different, as were also the color of their eyes, the length of their noses, and the circumstances of their existence, but something inside them meant the same thing, wanted the same release, would have left the same impression on the memory of an onlooker.
I would suggest this to anyone looking to feel less alone in the world, anyone who is confused and feels lost, or anyone who just needs something they can't explain.
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LibraryThing member eilonwy_anne
An excellent model for shnovel or collage, written with a delicate touch. I like the way the focus on the main character grows over time, as the child grows and differentiates himself and his personality from his community. I also appreciate the willingness to show the protagonist's folly and
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foibles. From a modern perspective, the clumsy attempts at female characterization are rather cringeworthy, and I also found the 'grotesque' angle somewhat overplayed. Show Less
LibraryThing member tloeffler
A collection of interconnected short stories, set in the post-WWI years in a small town in Ohio. Some of the stories are a little bit dated, but still a good read--a slice of time and place.
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1919