Monday, March 12, 2018

BACK TO THE CLASSICS 2018: Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

For the Back to Classics Challenge 2018 hosted by Karen at the blog Books and Chocolate  category  20th Century Classic” I chose Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson.   My reason for this title over many others was due to the fact that it is short and it is included on the Modern Library’s list of the  best 100 novels of the 20th century that I have been working my way through since 1998.




Winesburg, Ohio  is a collection of  vignettes (they are not short stories in my opinion) about certain residents of a small Ohio town in the late 1800’s, just before economy and society  moves from farming to factories.    As indicated in the first section of the book, “The Book of the Grotesque” the characters portrayed are shown in a very exaggerated, distorted way which often focuses on the unpleasant; those aspects of a person that one usually keeps hidden.

I am certainly glad to be able to tick this book off my list, but I didn’t really like it.  As short as it was, I found it difficult to read about such unhappy people over and over.  Almost everyone is yearning to escape and connect. But even those who do escape ultimately end up back in Winesburg. There are few happy exceptions.   People determined to finally express themselves lack the courage when finally faced with the opportunity.

Anderson’s writing has many admirers, Hemingway and Faulkner among them as I discovered n the introduction by Irving Howe in the Dover Thrift edition that I read.   But I found the description of the characters’ unhappiness and their expression of despair to be pretty unvaried as the book wore on.

14 comments:

  1. Hmmm. I guess one thing it shows is that the good old days weren't always what we imagine. I remember feeling the same about Sinclair Lewis' Main Street.

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    1. Reading books written in the past is often a very good reminder that the good old days ain't what they used to be! But that said, I LOVED Main Street. I should re-read it to find out why it worked for me where Winesburg didn't.

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  2. I struggle with books that are really unhappy. I don't want to shy away completely from sad books, but there seems to be so many difficult things already happening in the world that I like to escape with a pleasant book.
    This book has a nice cover, though!

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    1. The cover is pretty! I don't mind sad but it really depends on how it is written/presented. And I unfortunately found it rather relentless in this book!

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  3. Okay, this one sounds depressing. For your sake, I'm glad it wasn't any longer. ;D

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    1. I am glad it was short too! One more story might have really tipped me over the edge! :D

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  4. I read Winesburg Ohio many years ago and agree, its a depressing gloomy read and the only story that stays with me from that book is Hands which I thought was quite good but I have no memory of the other stories or characters. Winesburg Ohio reminds me of another book I read from that era Miss Lonleyhearts which I started with high hopes but ended up disappointed.

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    1. Ive only read The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West, which wasn't a laugh riot either! Good to know I am not alone in my finding Winesburg, Ohio gloomy!

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  5. Sounds like a real downer. I read Sherwood Anderson in college, but don't remember which novel nor anything about it. I doubt I'll give him another go. Thanks for a good review, though--as always, interesting.

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    1. I'll bet this is what you read in college Jane unless your professor was a hardcore fan of Anderson. It seems as if this collection is his best known work.

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  6. Yea, I don't think I liked this at all.

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  7. That's a shame. This is one I thought I wanted to read.

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    1. I would encourage you to try it carol! A good friend of mine really enjoyed it. At least read the first couple of stories and see what you think. As the kids say, your mileage may vary!

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