Nicely said as always, Richard. And so right about Winesburg, Ohio. I've read it more than once, though not in a very long time. But the characters whose stories I remember most vividly are Wing Biddlebaum and Alice Hindman: in fact, I realize that I'd memorized the final sentence of "Adventure" without trying to.
Winesburg Ohio will always be one of my favorite books. I agree with your comment about Garrison. I suspect he was really ambivalent about Winesburg. It's clear that Lake Wobegone owes much of its take on small town life to Anderson. I recently read Alice Munro's The Lives of Girls and Women. It is set in a small town in Ontario Canada and, like Anderson's book, is comprised of a series of stories about a young person coming of age and leaving eventually for a life on the outside.
Unlike Anderson's book, Munro's is told in the first person by a woman looking back on her own coming of age, which has the effect of giving the female narrator a good deal more agency than any of Anderson's women. Really a beautiful book. Anderson's female characters are really victimized by small town life. Not just Alice Hindman but George's mother, who has much in common with Alice, are destroyed by the narrowness of that setting. The boys get out. The girls remain behind. Ned Currie is really just the cad version of sensitive George.
I don't know how ambivalent Garrison was with his describing the book as "pretty dreadful." What I suspect is that he might see the Lake Wobegon material as veering at times into outright sentimentality, and he probably saw that in Winesburg and wanted to distance himself from that by putting the book down. He also might see a story like "Adventure" as beyond his reach as a writer. Who knows? American literature owes a lot to Anderson, both because of his writing and because he helped writers, like Hemingway and Faulkner, find their way. I don't know about agency, but what I do know is that this story in particular is heartbreaking and true.
Thank you for this reminder of a great American writer, a great American book. Hard to believe that was written more than a century ago. Times have changed. . . and yet, of course, they have not. (Did I really need to say that? Of course not!)
I was introduced to Winesburg, Ohio as an English major in France when I was 20. It made a very strong impression on me. Back then (and still now) I was a lot more attracted to US authors. I loved Carson McCullers. Don't get me started on how painful it was to read The Wings of the Dove for another class at the same time... I am usually ok with Garrison Keillor, so long as he doesn't open his mouth to sing (and he sings a lot!) but on this one he could have kept it shut as well. Thank you for a great piece and for reminding me to re-read Sherwood Anderson.
Thanks, Olivier. I'm surprised you didn't give up on English literature for good after The Wings of the Dove. I find James impenetrable. If you do re-read Anderson, let me know. First loves don't always last. You probably have French authors you went crazy for in your teens or twenties that you can't read now.
Winesburg Ohio will always be one of my favorite books. I agree with your comment about Garrison. I suspect he was really ambivalent about Winesburg. It's clear that Lake Wobegone owes much of its take on small town life to Anderson. I recently read Alice Munro's The Lives of Girls and Women. It is set in a small town in Ontario Canada and, like Anderson's book, is comprised of a series of stories about a young person coming of age and leaving eventually for a life on the outside.
Unlike Anderson's book, Munro's is told in the first person by a woman looking back on her own coming of age, which has the effect of giving the female narrator a good deal more agency than any of Anderson's women. Really a beautiful book. Anderson's female characters are really victimized by small town life. Not just Alice Hindman but George's mother, who has much in common with Alice, are destroyed by the narrowness of that setting. The boys get out. The girls remain behind. Ned Currie is really just the cad version of sensitive George.
Nicely said as always, Richard. And so right about Winesburg, Ohio. I've read it more than once, though not in a very long time. But the characters whose stories I remember most vividly are Wing Biddlebaum and Alice Hindman: in fact, I realize that I'd memorized the final sentence of "Adventure" without trying to.
And it's a great last sentence.
Excellent post, Richard. It’s simple: you’re right, Garrison is wrong.
Happens once in a blue moon!
That's one of the most poignant stories I've ever read. So painfully, truly human. Thanks for the reminder.
Winesburg Ohio will always be one of my favorite books. I agree with your comment about Garrison. I suspect he was really ambivalent about Winesburg. It's clear that Lake Wobegone owes much of its take on small town life to Anderson. I recently read Alice Munro's The Lives of Girls and Women. It is set in a small town in Ontario Canada and, like Anderson's book, is comprised of a series of stories about a young person coming of age and leaving eventually for a life on the outside.
Unlike Anderson's book, Munro's is told in the first person by a woman looking back on her own coming of age, which has the effect of giving the female narrator a good deal more agency than any of Anderson's women. Really a beautiful book. Anderson's female characters are really victimized by small town life. Not just Alice Hindman but George's mother, who has much in common with Alice, are destroyed by the narrowness of that setting. The boys get out. The girls remain behind. Ned Currie is really just the cad version of sensitive George.
I don't know how ambivalent Garrison was with his describing the book as "pretty dreadful." What I suspect is that he might see the Lake Wobegon material as veering at times into outright sentimentality, and he probably saw that in Winesburg and wanted to distance himself from that by putting the book down. He also might see a story like "Adventure" as beyond his reach as a writer. Who knows? American literature owes a lot to Anderson, both because of his writing and because he helped writers, like Hemingway and Faulkner, find their way. I don't know about agency, but what I do know is that this story in particular is heartbreaking and true.
Thank you for this reminder of a great American writer, a great American book. Hard to believe that was written more than a century ago. Times have changed. . . and yet, of course, they have not. (Did I really need to say that? Of course not!)
So true, Nancy!
I was introduced to Winesburg, Ohio as an English major in France when I was 20. It made a very strong impression on me. Back then (and still now) I was a lot more attracted to US authors. I loved Carson McCullers. Don't get me started on how painful it was to read The Wings of the Dove for another class at the same time... I am usually ok with Garrison Keillor, so long as he doesn't open his mouth to sing (and he sings a lot!) but on this one he could have kept it shut as well. Thank you for a great piece and for reminding me to re-read Sherwood Anderson.
Thanks, Olivier. I'm surprised you didn't give up on English literature for good after The Wings of the Dove. I find James impenetrable. If you do re-read Anderson, let me know. First loves don't always last. You probably have French authors you went crazy for in your teens or twenties that you can't read now.
Winesburg Ohio will always be one of my favorite books. I agree with your comment about Garrison. I suspect he was really ambivalent about Winesburg. It's clear that Lake Wobegone owes much of its take on small town life to Anderson. I recently read Alice Munro's The Lives of Girls and Women. It is set in a small town in Ontario Canada and, like Anderson's book, is comprised of a series of stories about a young person coming of age and leaving eventually for a life on the outside.
Unlike Anderson's book, Munro's is told in the first person by a woman looking back on her own coming of age, which has the effect of giving the female narrator a good deal more agency than any of Anderson's women. Really a beautiful book. Anderson's female characters are really victimized by small town life. Not just Alice Hindman but George's mother, who has much in common with Alice, are destroyed by the narrowness of that setting. The boys get out. The girls remain behind. Ned Currie is really just the cad version of sensitive George.