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Alabama Noir (Hardcover)
Don Noble; Contributions by Ace Atkins, Tom Franklin, Anita Miller Garner, Suzanne Hudson, …
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"Every place I visited," says Hudson Strode, "was like a surprise
package to be opened, and I untied the strings with high
expectations." Reading The Eleventh House: Memoirs is like going to
a party of smartly dressed guests. Strode starts his foreign
travels in Sorrento with Dante's descendant Count Dante
Serego-Alighieri as his guide. He takes a Russian cattle boat to
Tunisia and lunches with the lovely Countess de Brazza. Then he
embarks on a whirlwind tour of South America and writes South by
Thunderbird. Later, in England, he visits Rebecca West at her
country home and strikes up a warm friendship with Lady Astor. In
Denmark his hostess is Isak Dinesen. In Finland he meets Jan
Sibelius. Such are the times of Hudson Strode. With his keen eye
for settings, with candor, energy, and curiosity, Strode sees his
famous friends closely and wholly. His is a unique account. The
Eleventh House is the story of a rewarding and fascinating life
told by a man who remembers it all with affection. He tells it for
the record and as great entertainment.
Easily one of America's most important novelists, John Steinbeck
has been a favorite among readers of all kinds for decades. A
versatile, restless writer who constantly experimented with new
forms and genres, he seems to offer something for everyone-whether
rapturous descriptions of the California landscape, fierce
denunciations of social injustices, simple morality tales, or just
picaresque adventure stories. His simple prose style makes him a
perennial favorite among students, yet the layers of meaning his
simplicity conceals give many readers deep, lifelong enjoyment.
Edited and with an introduction by Don Noble, Professor Emeritus of
English at the University of Alabama, this volume in the Critical
Insights series brings together a variety of classic and
contemporary essays on this American author. Countering some of the
more severe criticisms leveled against Steinbeck, Noble's
introduction argues that readers have good reason to respect the
Nobel laureate's accomplishments, and Hua Hsu, writing for The
Paris Review, celebrates the author's social vision. For readers
studying Steinbeck for the first time, four new essays provide a
framework for studying the author in greater depth. Matthew J.
Bolton reviews Steinbeck's critical reputation, and Jennifer Banach
describes the social and historical contexts to which Steinbeck
responded in his work. Gurdip Panesar evaluates the novelist's
relationship to literary naturalism by comparing him with one of
America's quintessential literary naturalists, Frank Norris.
Finally, Cynthia A. Bily offers an ecofeminist reading of the
stories of The Long Valley. Next, a selection of classic and
contemporary essays introduce readers to key issues in the critical
discussion of Steinbeck. Opening this section is Jackson J.
Benson's "John Steinbeck: The Favorite Author We Love to Hate," in
which Benson attempts to explain why Steinbeck's popular reputation
is at such variance with his critical reputation. Steinbeck's most
popular novels-Tortilla Flat, In Dubious Battle, Of Mice and Men,
and The Grapes of Wrath-are then treated in several essays. Joseph
Fontenrose explains how the underlying structure of Tortilla Flat
incorporates Arthurian legend and ecological theory, and Thomas M.
Tammaro describes the merits of In Dubious Battle. Of Mice and Men
is treated by Anne Loftis, who guides readers through its
composition, and Louis Owens, who explicates the novel's themes of
paradise, loneliness, and commitment. Finally, John Seelye compares
The Grapes of Wrath to another sentimental protest novel, Harriet
Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Susan Shillinglaw describes
how California writers responded to the challenges issued by The
Grapes of Wrath. Next, a group of essays examine themes prevalent
across Steinbeck's work. Warren G. French illustrates the
psychological commonalities between Steinbeck and some of his most
famous protagonists, and James C. Kelley and John H. Timmerman take
up the author's views on science and nature. Mimi Gladstein and
Susan Shillinglaw also analyze Steinbeck's portraits of women and
racial minorities. Finally, the work of Steinbeck's middle and late
career is covered by three essays. Robert E. Morsberger describes
the author's involvement in World War II and evaluates his wartime
writing. Carol L. Hansen takes up the moral schema of East of Eden,
and Robert DeMott attempts to rehabilitate the critically panned
Sweet Thursday as an experimental comedy. Concluding the section is
a revealing 1995 interview with Steinbeck's third wife, Elaine.
Rounding out the volume are a biography and chronology of John
Steinbeck's life, a list of his major publications, and a
bibliography of resources for readers wishing to study Steinbeck
and his work in greater depth.
The introductory essay in this volume serves as a meditation on
Fitzgerald's enduring relevance, pointing out how the major themes
persisting across his workwealth, success, love, youth, and
tragedyare also enduring themes within the American consciousness.
Other essays discuss Fitzgerald's interpretation of the American
Dream, his place within American popular culture and survey the
critical reception of the novels and short stories to demonstrate
the rise, fall, and resurgence of Fitzgerald's reputation as a
major American author. Finally, novelist and screenwriter Budd
Schulberg offers a personal reminiscence of his brief, hectic
friendship with Fitzgerald as the two struggled to complete a
screenplay in the late 1930's.
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