A J Lattimer & Co. - Michael Reidy

This is one of the few books about the South written by a Southerner that I think people from all over the United States (and many parts of the world) can fully understand. One of the reasons is that the hardships are not localised; they are universals.  Even amid the bigotry in the story, no one is playing the blame game. Things are bad, but it's not because of the Yankees; or the rich whites; or "the system." Things are bad because the whole nation is in a Depression. I think that To Kill a Mockingbird is possibly the greatest American novel, and this is because it's the greatest novel about America and warts-and-all Americans.  Before critics, professors and teachers start exclaiming, "What about The Scarlet Letter ?' 'What about Moby Dic k?", let me say that I am willing to revise that statement by adding "of the 20th century." But I don't think it makes much difference. The first thing To Kill a Mockingbird has in

This will be one of the more contentious reviews on this blog. I like The Rise of Silas Lapham .  I think it is an intelligent book that gives not only a fine portrait of a believable man, but a wonderful picture of an age, too. William Dean Howells is one of the most neglected and under-rated novelists in American Literature. He is due for a revival. I keep thinking it's about to happen when another of his books appears in paperback, but it never quite takes off. Howells is, perhaps, just too old fashion, but he is certainly not without life or value. Other recommended titles are: A Hazard of New Fortunes , Indian Summer , The Landlord at Lion Head , and A Modern Instance , all of which have appeared in paperback in the last decade. O ne of the problems that Howells suffers from is that he mixes his genres, so that he is never a satisfactory choice for 'realism', 'romanticism' or 'humor.' The Rise of Silas Lapham is perhaps the most e

Booth Tarkington is another of those writers who is old-fashion and out of style. He was certainly never the heavy-weight literary figure that William Dean Howells was, so his chances of a significant revival are slim. Still, he wrote some good novels that give a well observed view of life at the beginning of the 20th century. If for nothing else, he will be remembered for providing Orson Wells with the source of The Magnificent Ambersons . The Turmoil is an novel of industrial wealth; the rise of the self-made man and the decline of gentlemanly, old money families. As we watch the ascendency of the Sheridans, we watch the decline of the Vertrees, and they pass each other on their social ladders. For all of the bluff and bluster of Mr Sheridan, he is not a man of ill will; nor is he a despotic industrialist. He and his family have many virtues, but as are many upwardly - and downwardly - mobile people, they are uncomfortable about where they are. It takes a few generations to

One critic said that all modern American literature traces itself back to The Great Gatsby . I don't happen to think that's true, but it only took me two lines of my own epic novel [coming eventually] before I made a direct reference to it. There are many reasons for the success and continued popularity of The Great Gatsby . First, it's a story set in a magical age. It's glamorous, jazzy, colorful, affluent, dangerous, and always was far enough in the past so that no one could say with complete certainty that things were never like that.  Secondly, it is a love story. The consuming love of Gatsby for Daisy; the love that left him dissatisfied with all his power and wealth. His, too, was a love for the past: his illusions of those hot nights, waiting to see her in a lazy southern town where she was the main attraction. It was an age of lost manners; just as the 20s were lost to readers of the book, the World War I period was lost to Gatsby. The O

One afternoon while marking papers around the large table in the common room of a minor English public school, the question of what was popular fiction and what was literature came up. One of my colleagues, now a distinguished novelist, said, "Popular fiction is about money, sex and death. Literature is about God, sex and death." I've considered that definition over the intervening decades, and have come to the conclusion that it is more satisfactory than most. It's simplicity is deceptive.  The line between the categories is sometimes very fine, good writing can make the difference. It's not about being profound; it's about expressing ideas clearly; creating memorable scenes and characters. Here, in no particular order, are some books that will probably still be read a hundred years from their first publication, though they may be out of favour now: The Caine Mutiny , Herman Wouk, 1951 1876 , Gore Vidal, 1976 The Last Convertible , Anto

First lines are first impressions Teachers of creative writing are always bleating about the importance of first lines. They're not wrong, but a first line isn't make-or-break. Many excellent novels have indifferent first lines, but their significance is often created by the fact that they are the opening lines of great books; they are not great books because they have killer opening lines. Consider the first line of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities . it rambles on for 119 words, and demonstrates that Dickens had no understanding of the semi-colon. Most people can only remember the first dozen words; show-offs know the first two dozen. Dickens was being paid by the word, and was a master at turning one good idea into a whole chapter. (Don't misunderstand me: A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favourite books.) First lines are like book titles. They can take a while for the writer to feel satisfied with them, but often, they don't really matter. When asked what he