Week 2  Assignment 2     Appeal Factors


Three of my favorite novels.


Unvanquished  William Faulkner

At some point, I think everyone must read a Faulkner novel. It will plant you firmly in the South where the Civil War is always present and past.
"Unvanquished" takes place in Mississippi, near Jackson in the years 1867-1873. Vicksburg has just fallen, the Civil War is coming to an end.  In its' wake, Yankee soldiers are heading north and Confederate soldiers are returning to their towns, their burned and empty plantation homes and a way of life almost unrecognizable. Four main characters dominant this story: Colonel John Sartoris, decorated Confederate soldier, his son Bayard, Ringo, Bayard's childhood friend and slave, and Granny, John's mother.
This story has all the elements of a Faulkner novel-a southern family dynasty holding on to whatever is left(in this case, the family honor and silver and a few horses).  Add in a confrontation with a Yankee over horse thieving (but in a southern mannerly way) and a duel at the end involving the Colonel's son and a "carpetbagger", to restore honor to the family name( while wearing a sprig of Verbena tucked into his suit coat pocket) !
I loved the language, the description of place and people, the ways and customs of this time. While reading the way Faulkner writes, describes and narrates, I felt in the company of a grand storyteller.






100 Years of the Best American Short Stories  Edited by Lorrie Moore

This collection is so full of such great writers!  It is organized by decade so you also get a sense of the cultural and historical themes of the time as well.  The short story is also a really good way to discover writers that you may have heard of but haven't read.  

The collection begins with the first published story by Ernest Hemingway. I love his minimalist, descriptive style.  Flannery O'Connor's contribution is "Everything that Rises Must Converge," In her style, you get completely involved with the characters and their prejudices and then she ends it with a real jaw dropper. So Satisfying!  I had never heard of Nancy Hale and her story centers on the reverberations of the Holocaust  and of the scars that still linger within the tranquil country of upstate New York.  James Baldwin's "Sonnys Blues" is here too.  I have never read(but wanted to) anything by him and this story about the emotional bonds of brothers and the redemption that can come through in music, stayed with me long after reading.
This is just a small description of a really marvelous collection!






A Tree Grows in Brooklyn   Betty Smith
Betty Smith wrote this beautiful and harsh coming of age novel in 1943.  The story centers on a young girl, Francie Nolan, growing up in Brooklyn, New York at the beginning of the 19th century. She lives with her father, mother and brother and her family is first generation Irish American. She remembers a home full of warmth and love but frequently in need.  Her father, while loving and affectionate, drinks too much and can't hold a job.  Her mother works several jobs but there always seems to be a struggle to make ends meet..  Francie cherishes her trips to the library every Saturday.  She understands that reading books and going to school will be her way out of this desperate life.
The descriptions of her neighborhood are rich in personal characters and day to day activity. This novel places you in a part of the city, at a time when many immigrants were settling into America for the first time.