Hostess: Joan
Attendees: Michelle, Cheryl, Amy, Lori, Pat, Janna, Pam T, Pam M
The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington
Published in 1918
from Amazon book review:
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1918, The Magnificent Ambersonschronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of an American dynasty. The protagonist of Booth Tarkington's great historical drama is George Amberson Minafer, the spoiled and arrogant grandson of the founder of the family's magnificence. Eclipsed by a new breed of developers, financiers, and manufacturers, this pampered scion begins his gradual descent from the midwestern aristocracy to the working class.
Today The Magnificent Ambersons is best known through the 1942 Orson Welles movie, but as the critic Stanley Kauffmann noted, "It is high time that [the novel] appear again, to stand outside the force of Welles's genius, confident in its own right."
"The Magnificent Ambersons is perhaps Tarkington's best novel," judged Van Wyck Brooks. "[It is] a typical story of an American family and town--the great family that locally ruled the roost and vanished virtually in a day as the town spread and darkened into a city. This novel no doubt was a permanent page in the social history of the United States, so admirably conceived and written was the tale of the Ambersons, their house, their fate and the growth of the community in which they were submerged in the end."
We knew going in that this book might be a tough sell. The majority felt the plot was disappointing. Nothing truly exiting going on and the ending felt quick and flat.
Everyone agreed George was extremely unlikeable: spoiled, whiny, privileged, and mean. Lucy was the most likable and also the one we were eager to know more about but she disappeared in the plot (or non-plot). There was also a questionable relationship between George and his mother Isobel.
It was interesting to follow the development of technology (automobile).
Some of us felt this novel was like looking through a window into the world of the have and have-nots a century ago (doing vs. being, old money vs. new money). It was also a revealing study of homes, clothing and social activity of the time period. Some aspects showed that not much has changed in today's world!
We did agree that reading a book actually written 100 years ago is much different than reading a contemporary published book about a time period 100 years ago. Many members just could not get through the archaic language while a small few thought the writing was very rich and well done. C'mon, this book did win the 1919 Pulitzer Prize, after all!
It was interesting to contrast this novel to last month's never-ending convoluted plot in The Life We Bury.
Overall star rating we averaged out as a 2 ** or maybe 2.5
We were kept on our toes with Cocoa the canine's shenanigans and keeping a watch on our food, especially those oatmeal cookies!
Next month's selection: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Hostess: Pam T
Today The Magnificent Ambersons is best known through the 1942 Orson Welles movie, but as the critic Stanley Kauffmann noted, "It is high time that [the novel] appear again, to stand outside the force of Welles's genius, confident in its own right."
"The Magnificent Ambersons is perhaps Tarkington's best novel," judged Van Wyck Brooks. "[It is] a typical story of an American family and town--the great family that locally ruled the roost and vanished virtually in a day as the town spread and darkened into a city. This novel no doubt was a permanent page in the social history of the United States, so admirably conceived and written was the tale of the Ambersons, their house, their fate and the growth of the community in which they were submerged in the end."
We knew going in that this book might be a tough sell. The majority felt the plot was disappointing. Nothing truly exiting going on and the ending felt quick and flat.
Everyone agreed George was extremely unlikeable: spoiled, whiny, privileged, and mean. Lucy was the most likable and also the one we were eager to know more about but she disappeared in the plot (or non-plot). There was also a questionable relationship between George and his mother Isobel.
It was interesting to follow the development of technology (automobile).
Some of us felt this novel was like looking through a window into the world of the have and have-nots a century ago (doing vs. being, old money vs. new money). It was also a revealing study of homes, clothing and social activity of the time period. Some aspects showed that not much has changed in today's world!
We did agree that reading a book actually written 100 years ago is much different than reading a contemporary published book about a time period 100 years ago. Many members just could not get through the archaic language while a small few thought the writing was very rich and well done. C'mon, this book did win the 1919 Pulitzer Prize, after all!
It was interesting to contrast this novel to last month's never-ending convoluted plot in The Life We Bury.
Overall star rating we averaged out as a 2 ** or maybe 2.5
We were kept on our toes with Cocoa the canine's shenanigans and keeping a watch on our food, especially those oatmeal cookies!
Next month's selection: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Hostess: Pam T
