This author's range of experience is vast, improbable, remarkable � and wildly entertaining.
He even "slept with" The Beatles, and you can read all aboThis author's range of experience is vast, improbable, remarkable � and wildly entertaining.
He even "slept with" The Beatles, and you can read all about it in this collection.
Many of these stories involve horses, and police work, and even work as a mounted police officer in Toronto. Later horse stories are about riding schools, horse rentals to theatrical productions, or a horse delivery to a private island in the Georgian Bay (which involved putting flippers on the horse � see what I mean about improbable).
Leeson hints at sad stories that continue to haunt his dreams, but this volume collects more upbeat tales. Even the serious stories all have a lighter side.
Considered to be Anderson's "masterpiece" � I've been chipping away at this book for months.
Is it a novel, or short stories, or linked stories? It is Considered to be Anderson's "masterpiece" � I've been chipping away at this book for months.
Is it a novel, or short stories, or linked stories? It is somehow all of these things, and is based on Anderson's hometown in Ohio. The result is like a collage, or a mosaic, and the more you know about the characters in the small town, the more the entire scene comes into view.
Of course, just as in life, there are contradictions and ambiguities. It is these subtle notes that elevates this text.
This book was recommended to me for years, and I can see why. It is an achievement, the format is inventive and playful, and the result is wonderful, truly wonderful.
In this short piece, the last chapter in our intimate stroll through Winesburg, Ohio, we glimpse the conflicting emotions as George Willard gets up eaIn this short piece, the last chapter in our intimate stroll through Winesburg, Ohio, we glimpse the conflicting emotions as George Willard gets up early and boards the train, preparing to leave his hometown.
These mixed emotions mirror those of the reader, who is glad to have finished a book, but is also sad to be leaving behind (perhaps for good) all the people we have come to know so well in this book. George himself, in the story, is surprised by the people he didn't know cared who came out to see him off.
George Willard, I often felt, might be a stand-in for Sherwood himself: a writer, an observer, someone standing off to the side and seeing everything.
5 sentimental mixed-feeling stars (if only because nobody has given this piece 5 stars before; it is a concluding chapter rather than a stand-alone story)....more
The second-to-last story in Anderson's masterpiece, Winesburg, Ohio, this short chapter follows the omnipresent George Willard, 18 and about to leave The second-to-last story in Anderson's masterpiece, Winesburg, Ohio, this short chapter follows the omnipresent George Willard, 18 and about to leave his home town to try his luck at a big city newspaper, as he ambiguously courts Helen White, the banker's daughter.
Helen White has other young men circling, more sophisticated men, but she has known George for a long time, and is touched by his incoherent passion � and shares much of his confusion, playfulness, and attraction.
They are discovering their own layers of sophistication � but what are they to make of their discoveries?...more
Death is the only chapter/short story in Winesburg, Ohio that "concerns" two people; each of these two haconcerning Doctor Reefy and Elizabeth Willard
Death is the only chapter/short story in Winesburg, Ohio that "concerns" two people; each of these two had their own story earlier � Doctor Reefy in Paper Pills and Elizabeth Willard (George's mother) in Mother.
Naturally, I had to reread these two stories before attempting to scale the worn staircase to Doctor Reefy's office and eavesdrop on his conversation with Elizabeth Willard. This rereading also helped me to better appreciate the quiet magnitude and vast intimate scope of Anderson's ambition with this marvellous book.
Much comes together in this chapter, and of course George is there too, possessed by the madness of grief. "Only time would give him the sense of the meaning of her death."
There is a wonderful thread here about an inheritance, a chain of events and promises, from father to daughter, and then from mother to son � but I won't spoil it for other readers....more
I read this once, but then forget to review it, so then had to read it again. Now I have to glance at the story again to remember it, because I've reaI read this once, but then forget to review it, so then had to read it again. Now I have to glance at the story again to remember it, because I've read and reread some other glimpses of Winesburg, Ohio in the meantime.
concerning Tom Foster
Tom Foster was an orphan who moved to Winesburg with his grandmother "when he was still young and could get many new impressions." He's a quiet sort who feels like an outsider.
One day he decides to get drunk and that is what he does. Naturally, he then has an encounter with the ubiquitous George Willard who is at the centre of much of the town's turmoil.
"It was good to be drunk," Tom Foster said. "It taught me something. I won't have to do it again."
A rather perplexing story, a bit wobbly on its own, but adds to the collage of the town....more
This volume claims to be "stories" on the cover, but they are all of a piece, connected together by a trip to South Africa and recollections of past eThis volume claims to be "stories" on the cover, but they are all of a piece, connected together by a trip to South Africa and recollections of past events while on the long plane trip.
The second in a series, these scenes depict a somewhat gentler version of the octogenarian serial killer; in fact, in some of the pieces no one is even killed!
Somewhat more palatable (less murdering), somewhat more boring (still predictable and fanciful); somewhat less accomplished than the first volume (which featured more stand-alone stories which each stood on their own).
Again a quick read, and one feels that now the adventures of Maud, the Swedish lady who is the sweetest sociopath you will ever encounter, have now wound to a close. Thank goodness for that....more
Elmer Crowley is the son of an awkward shopkeeper in Winesburg, Ohio, has lived in town for a year, and has no friends. He feeconcerning Elmer Crowley
Elmer Crowley is the son of an awkward shopkeeper in Winesburg, Ohio, has lived in town for a year, and has no friends. He feels like an outsider, feels people are laughing at him; he is embarrassed by his father's old coat.
The young journalist George Willard is a fixture in these stories, and the print shop is near Crowley & Son's store; Elmer finds himself drawn to George, wants to tell him something � but what? and why?
Sherwood Anderson puts the word "Queer" in quotation marks in the title � why does he emphasis the "otherness" of this word, this title, in this manner? The word queer is used many times in the text (without quotation marks), mostly by Elmer himself, describing his opinion of his father, his mother, this and that. He himself does not want to be queer; the word at the time mostly meant "odd" or "counterfeit" but also held a small portion of the meaning which now overflows.
The reader has to wonder about Sherwood Anderson, and his own life story, and the extent to which one is supposed to read between the lines, to fill in the gaps, to wonder at the impulse of Elmer to connect with George, the violence of his approach, and his inability to find words � and the author's inability at the time to speak freely....more
Rereading this, I decided the awakening here occurred primarily in George Willard, the young journalist who knits these linkconcerning Belle Carpenter
Rereading this, I decided the awakening here occurred primarily in George Willard, the young journalist who knits these linked stories together in the long-ago town of Winesburg, Ohio.
George has a transcendent moment, after drinking with buddies, as he wanders through the town and experiments with words and ideas. He has a revelation, too, about Belle Carpenter, who is in love with another man but toys with George, because "she felt she could keep the younger man {George} within bounds."
George Willard is slowly taking over this collection of linked stories, he is the author's vehicle, as Sherwood Anderson moves the characters towards his own lived destiny....more
This is a peculiar story from Sherwood Anderson; instead of being mostly set in Winesburg, Ohio, much of this tale takes placconcerning Enoch Robinson
This is a peculiar story from Sherwood Anderson; instead of being mostly set in Winesburg, Ohio, much of this tale takes place in New York. However, Enoch returns to his hometown of Winesburg and, like so many other characters, has a revelatory encounter with the young journalist George Willard.
This story contributes to the small town collage, but I found it a little awkward. What was Anderson really wanting to talk about here?...more
"If you are to become a writer," the teacher explained to the young journalist George Willard, "you'll have to stop fooling with concerning Kate Swift
"If you are to become a writer," the teacher explained to the young journalist George Willard, "you'll have to stop fooling with words."
Kate Swift, the teacher, goes on to say, "The thing to learn is to know what people are thinking about, not what they say."
Later, she says to George, "I must be going. In a moment, if I stay, I'll be wanting to kiss you."
This piece is a companion to the previous story, The Strength of God, and the two stories are woven together tightly. Rev. Hartman, too, has a climatic moment with the journalist George Willard; in face we are told it happened immediately after Kate Swift's late-night embrace with George. So much small town drama in Winesburg, Ohio!
I often imagine the character George as a stand-in for Sherwood Anderson himself. George is a writer, he is asking questions, and is a vehicle for confession and revelation. And the book ends with a section about George himself, titled "Departure." Honestly, I'm slow walking my way towards the inevitable.
Five stars, for the cumulative weight of "The Strength of God" and "The Teacher" since the two stories work as one, in a way, depicting a love triangle of sorts � albeit one based on frustration, loneliness, and confusion....more
Reverend Hartman is forty years old, and determined � earnestly determined � to inspire his congregation, to "arconcerning The Reverend Curtis Hartman
Reverend Hartman is forty years old, and determined � earnestly determined � to inspire his congregation, to "arouse keen enthusiasm." Rev. Hartman "wondered if the flame of the spirit really burned in him and dreamed of a day when a strong sweet new current of power would come like a great wind into his voice and his soul and the people would tremble before the spirit of God made manifest in him."
Rev. Hartman has been the Presbyterian pastor in Winesburg, Ohio for ten years.
Earnestness is not always the best defence against temptations, and the "strong sweet new current of power" may come in an unexpected form.
Oh dear. The strength of God is not to be underestimated....more
One of the more baffling short pieces in "Winesburg, Ohio" in which a stranger, who is "almost always drunk", in the throes of anconcerning Tandy Hard
One of the more baffling short pieces in "Winesburg, Ohio" in which a stranger, who is "almost always drunk", in the throes of an addiction epiphany, changes the course of a young girl's life.
I've read it twice now; still not sure what to make of it. The forces here in play are a neglectful father, who rails against God and preaches being agnostic; the drunkard whose visions are contagious; and a seven year old girl, who "until she was seven years old lived in an old unpainted house on an unused road".
Where did she live after that? That's what I'm still thinking about....more
One of the quieter stories in "Winesburg, Ohio" which contributes to the fabric of the town more than imagining itself as beinconcerning Seth Richmond
One of the quieter stories in "Winesburg, Ohio" which contributes to the fabric of the town more than imagining itself as being a standalone story.
And that, in a nutshell, is what Seth Richmond is thinking about. Is he part of the town, or is he his own person, with his own story.
As I say, it is a quiet story but one which has grown on me as I identify with Seth's dilemma, not feeling he belongs and not sure what else to do....more
Wash Williams was a talented telegraph operator, once slim and handsome, and happily married � or so he thought. The loss of concerning Wash Williams
Wash Williams was a talented telegraph operator, once slim and handsome, and happily married � or so he thought. The loss of his love turned him into an ugly beast, reminiscent of a caged animal.
Another character found in the pages of Winesburg, Ohio, a small town brimming with incredible tales of everyday life; a town where everyone knows each other but may not know all the details and context. Life in a small town is like that; none of us knows everything....more
Joe Welling is a man of ideas, and for that reason he is slightly feared in Winesburg, Ohio because he can talk your head off.
Thconcerning Joe Welling
Joe Welling is a man of ideas, and for that reason he is slightly feared in Winesburg, Ohio because he can talk your head off.
This is one of the linked stories in Anderson's book which leans heavily on its neighbours, feeling like more of a character sketch of a quirky resident rather than presenting as a fully-formed story. There are dangling loose ends here, too, and I fear we may never know what will happen....more
This is the longest section in Winesburg, Ohio, and is somewhat of an anomaly. Besides the length, it is the only piece so far to have four parts; twoThis is the longest section in Winesburg, Ohio, and is somewhat of an anomaly. Besides the length, it is the only piece so far to have four parts; two of those parts are just numbered, but part III is titled "Surrender" and part IV "Terror".
This quirky formatting is a little perplexing but also admirable. I enjoy the unpredictable element, the notion that the author is free of constraints.
"Godliness" is the tale of the Bentley family, mostly centred on Jesse Bentley who returns to the farm from his theological studies after all his brothers were killed in the war (that would be the Civil War).
Besides Jesse Bentley, "Godliness" also portrays his daughter Louise (in "Surrender") and his grandson David (in "Terror"). However, the entirety of "Godliness" follows Jesse, a minister turned farmer, consumed with ambition and a religious mania....more
This is an extraordinary work, at times profound, dazzling, puzzling, distancing, immediate, gripping, and confusing.
A series of shortish chapters, soThis is an extraordinary work, at times profound, dazzling, puzzling, distancing, immediate, gripping, and confusing.
A series of shortish chapters, some of which are related to each other in obvious ways, some of which are obscure to this dazed reader. The voice early on (different in each chapter) is magnificently unique and extremely impressive. Also—there was not, as in a typical novel, a reason to keep reading. A cherished voice or chapter would disappear from view, never to be revisited in full.
As much as I admired this book (novel? linked stories?) at one point I put it aside and read other things. I craved a bit of narrative propulsion and carry through. If this were not a library book clamouring to be returned (much requested) I might not have picked it up again to finish it. It's beautiful, and magnificent, but not gripping.
But I did and I'm glad I did. Although I don't know how to talk about this book, I am quite fond of it.
At risk of spoilers (spoilers! Be warned!) the jacket or promotional materials never seem to mention that it is, very strongly, a ghost story....more
"Terror" depicts intergenerational trauma, in the sense that unfulfilled dreams (or delusions) can be foisted on your children or grandchildren.
"A doz"Terror" depicts intergenerational trauma, in the sense that unfulfilled dreams (or delusions) can be foisted on your children or grandchildren.
"A dozen plans for escape ran through David's head" but he hesitates and then is brought to the brink. After that, he leaves for good.
There is an abruptness in this tale, that I believe reflects what really happened on these farms and in small towns. People left one day and no one knows what happens to them. Their stories do end abruptly, from the point of view of the people who stay in Winesburg, Ohio....more
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