Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: McTeague: A Story of San Francisco (Modern Library Classics) by Frank Norris, Alfred Kazin ISBN: 0375761292 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 08 October, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.26
Rating: 3
Summary: An interesting thesis on realtionships and the middle class.
Comment: I must admit that I was at first reluctant to read Frank Norris' McTeague on account of its not- so-breathtakingly-exotic title. But now that I have finished reading the book, I must say that McTeague has to be one of the finest writings on the plight of the middle class I have ever read. Set in the slummy streets of San Francisco, the book centers around a degree-less dentist named McTeague and covers the various the ups and downs of his miserable life. The book is kept mildly entertaining due to Norris' consistant introduction of new conflicts and events in successive chapters. Aside from the plot and characters, the book is also a very interseting thesis on human sexual roles by Norris. It proves to be entertaining due to Norris eloquent amalgum of sulleness, humor, and irony. The book's main negative is its haphazard pace. Progressing very slowly in some chapters and snowballing in others, the book is for the reader who prefers varity of pace over steadiness. Despite its creative shortcomings, the book succeeds in educating the reader about the difficult and disturbing lives of the lower-middle-class.
Rating: 5
Summary: Remorseless, brutal, utterly necessary
Comment: Some aspects of McTeague are a little on the amateurish side; it can be psychologically clumsy, and some of the symbolism seems a bit labored (hey, Norris was in his twenties, whaddaya expect?). This, however, is irrelevant, because, truly, it is the most visceral novel I've read in ages, pulling no punches, and with easily the most nightmarish ending I've ever encountered in a 'realistic' novel (whatever you do, don't spoil it for yourself). Norris's single token attempt at lightening the mood is a secondary romantic subplot, but really, you'll be so overwhelmed by the novel's main thread, you'll barely notice.
Norris was heavily, heavily influenced by Zola, and it shows on ever page. And, while his writing might not be up to that of The Man at his height (though if he hadn't died at thirty-two...the mind reels at the possibilities), he nonetheless displays all of Emile's best tendencies: the talent for atmosphere, the firm refusal to ever relent, the simply-drawn but deeply memorable characters...it's all there. Written in English, by an American. One of those things that might contribute to my being proud of my country, if not for various other issues.
Seriously, dudes and dudesses...it's difficult for me to imagine how one could fail to be awestruck by this novel. Anyone interested in American fiction, naturalism, or just kickass writing in general should most definitely not miss it.
Rating: 4
Summary: A powerful portrayal of greed (in spite of its stereotypes)
Comment: Along with Stephen Crane, Frank Norris was one of the earliest writers in American naturalism--a tradition that eventually gave us Sinclair Lewis, Theodore Dreiser, and John Steinbeck. Influenced by social Darwinism and the French realists (especially Zola), their style tends to bluntness and away from romanticism and their view of civilization is marked by grimness. "McTeague" is considered Norris's classic work, and for good reason: its effect on later writers is obvious, and the book represents a shocking, bleak expose of greed and of the bestial nature of human beings.
McTeague is an unschooled, middle-class dentist who marries Trina, a daughter of German immigrants who is also the sweetheart of her distant cousin Marcus. Their lives are irrevocably changed when Trina wins $5,000 from a lottery, and their story is an examination of the resulting greed, miserliness, jealousies, intrigues, abuse, and homicide. Norris's worldview is not entirely gloomy, however: he introduces two endearing and unforgettable characters, Old Grannis and Miss Baker, an elderly couple whose only pleasure in the world is the knowledge of each other's existence on the other side of the shared wall of their two apartments. They are the antithesis of greed, and the simplicity of their desires provide much-needed comic (and, yes, romantic) relief.
The 21st-century reader, however, should be warned that Norris's ethnic stereotypes are not pretty. Zerkow, a Polish Jew, is a parsimonious junk peddler who has "bloodless lips" and "claw-like, prehensile fingers--the fingers of a man who accumulates, but never disburses." He dreams incessantly of gold, and is entranced by the long-lost (and undoubtedly imaginary) gold dinnerware described by a Mexican maid, Maria, whom he eventually marries in order to monopolize her memories of the treasure. Maria herself is a dim-witted and unrepentant petty thief, yet her portrayal is more sympathetic in its evocation of naivety and innocence and suffering. Yet it's difficult to overcome the cringe factor created by Norris's depiction of these two characters. (To confirm that I was not overreacting, I searched the Web and found that, unfortunately, these passages are cited or reprinted gleefully and favorably on a number of anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi sites.)
Happily, the remainder of the novel's characters are not so one-dimensional, yet all the main characters turn out to be, in their own way, as narrow-minded and greedy as Zerkow and Maria. There are two ways to see the disparity in the presentation of these characters. Critics tend to point out the Zerkow is presented first, as the archetype of greed--and that the remainder of the novel shows how McTeague, Trina, and Marcus are as greedy as Zerkow--or as "greedy as a Jew." The more charitable analysis reverses the perspective: that Norris mitigates his representation of Zerkow by demonstrating, in effect, that he is no different than anyone else--that all humans are basically brutes (a word Norris uses often).
Norris's novel is above all a stark condemnation of human baseness. The various characters pursue their inescapable and expected demise, and the suddenness and shock of the ending is breathtaking. The power of the novel's underlying message ultimately overwhelms its dated bigotry, and "McTeague" is still a must-read for anyone interested in American literature.
 |
Title: Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, Richard Lingeman ISBN: 0451527607 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 10 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
 |
Title: The Rise of Silas Lapham (The Penguin American Library) by William Dean Howells ISBN: 0140390308 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: April, 1983 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
 |
Title: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Anna Quindlen ISBN: 0451527569 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: February, 2000 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
 |
Title: The Octopus: A Story of California (Twentieth Century Classics) by Frank Norris, Kevin Starr ISBN: 0140187707 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: August, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: The Pit: A Story of Chicago (Twentieth Century Classics) by Frank Norris, Joseph R McElrath, Gwendolyn Jones, Joseph A. McElrath ISBN: 0140187588 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: August, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
