Winesburg, Ohio

Alex Keane reviewed Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

Review of "Winesburg, Ohio (Oxford World's Classics)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Sherwood Anderson writes of a small Ohio town near the turn of the 20th Century. Machines have not yet come to dominate agriculture and industry, a contrast that is delivered in the narrative.

Winesburg, Ohio is structured as a series of what at first feel like distinct short stories, each having its own beginning, middle, and end. Each tells the story of an inhabitant of the town, of the young men and women discovering love for the first time, of the priest dealing honestly with temptation for the first time.

As the stories weave on, the book becomes more solidly the story of the stories that lead George Willard, a young newspaper reporter from an unhappy family, to get the courage to leave town to seek success in the city.

Overall, Anderson does a great job of using the almost-but-not-quite-realist descriptions of the rural setting as a backdrop against which …

Sherwood Anderson writes of a small Ohio town near the turn of the 20th Century. Machines have not yet come to dominate agriculture and industry, a contrast that is delivered in the narrative.

Winesburg, Ohio is structured as a series of what at first feel like distinct short stories, each having its own beginning, middle, and end. Each tells the story of an inhabitant of the town, of the young men and women discovering love for the first time, of the priest dealing honestly with temptation for the first time.

As the stories weave on, the book becomes more solidly the story of the stories that lead George Willard, a young newspaper reporter from an unhappy family, to get the courage to leave town to seek success in the city.

Overall, Anderson does a great job of using the almost-but-not-quite-realist descriptions of the rural setting as a backdrop against which he plays with the human condition. In each of the "grotesques" as he called them is an aspect of humanity that we have each dealt with. Anderson's masterwork is a great read.

Sean Bala reviewed Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson

Review of "Winesburg, Ohio (Oxford World's Classics)" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Anderson's short-story cycle has had a clear influence on the American Short Story and the writing of Hemingway and Faulkner. It is unique in that it sits somewhere between a short-story collection and a novel. It has a loose plot and common characters but it consists of perfectly crafted character studies of individuals in a small, Midwestern town at the turn of the twentieth century. The frame narrative of novel is the maturation of young George Willard, a reporter for the local newspaper, who becomes the confidant of the lonely individuals that wander listlessly through the town. Anderson writes so well and can capture such intense emotions in a few pages. He shows people who feel trapped and lost by a world rapidly changing from agriculture to industry. He captures all of their pains and struggles and creates truly memorable characters. Highly recommended - an author and work that I …

Anderson's short-story cycle has had a clear influence on the American Short Story and the writing of Hemingway and Faulkner. It is unique in that it sits somewhere between a short-story collection and a novel. It has a loose plot and common characters but it consists of perfectly crafted character studies of individuals in a small, Midwestern town at the turn of the twentieth century. The frame narrative of novel is the maturation of young George Willard, a reporter for the local newspaper, who becomes the confidant of the lonely individuals that wander listlessly through the town. Anderson writes so well and can capture such intense emotions in a few pages. He shows people who feel trapped and lost by a world rapidly changing from agriculture to industry. He captures all of their pains and struggles and creates truly memorable characters. Highly recommended - an author and work that I plan on revisiting later.