APPETITE
Short stories from the likes of Alice Munro, David Foster Wallace, Raymond Carver, Flannery O'Connor; essays from Joan Didion, James Baldwin, Adam Gopnik, Anne Fadiman, Joseph Mitchell, Richard Rodriguez, D F Wallace, Lauren Slater. Modern + contemporary fiction, classics, psychology, social history.librarydork
Becky T.
Chicago, IL
United States
TABLE TALK
“I THINK I'm finally getting the hang of BookGlutton. I sure hope my comments are on a par with yours. :)
—jennilovesbooks, 915 days ago
“Welcome!
—tdawg, 946 days ago
“I say, "Up with libraries!"
—improvateur, 946 days ago
PUBLIC NOTES
Proverbs: Good point-- I hadn't thought of them as Proverbs-- definitely true.
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
I'm lost!: Any idea what is happening here? Is this a reference to Robert Browning (since he's Elijah Browning)? Or a myth? I'm so lost!
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Redemption: The materialist comes to believe that immortality exists and is something worth finding!
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Less of an anti-church/God feeling now?: I wonder if, when Masters tells the stories of the more successful citizens, he expresses a more positive view of God and the church? I seem to notice that, but maybe I am not seeing the big picture.
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Roots & branches metaphor: What do you make of this metaphor? Could this be a picture of the people in Spoon River who tried to live larger lives but were bumping up against tragedies, other strong personalities, and their own weaknesses?
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Good advice: These closing lines offer good advice from such a cheerful old woman!
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Masters' Grandmother: And apparently this was based on Masters' grandmother.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Reading this as a Midwesterner: It's funny to read the references to Chicago-- and Altgeld is now a street on the Northside of Chicago! I had never heard of him before this. :) Also, it seems (according to May Swenson, again) that Masters really disliked Chicago and thought it had a decadent influence.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Youth: This is insightful, and quite applicable to our culture, too!
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Less than half?!: So, the actual murderer gets 14 years, but the wife get 30? The repentance here is truly beautiful. But the double-standard is maddening!
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Name choices: With the monologues being so short, Masters quickly adds another dimension by choosing names that tell us something about the person. I'm glad this guy is only fictional-- such an unfortunate name!
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Evil in the world: "What is the use of knowing the evil in the world"-- I wonder if Masters was ever confronted with this question about his own work? He definitely presents the evil along with the good, and to instructive effect.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Is she the reason for disgrace?: Looking back at Washington McNeely's epitaph, I couldn't quite figure out which son was connected to Ida. Was the broken engagement the reason one of the sons left town in disgrace? Or was a breach of promise so bad that she would have been considered "the debauch"?
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Masters' own epitaph: According to May Swenson's introduction to Spoon River, this is an epitaph Edgar Lee Masters wrote about himself.
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
More about marriage: After reading your comment, Jenni, regarding the negativity toward marriage, this line at the end struck me-- the daughters marrying "madly, helter-skelter." I wonder if this is a clue to some of the discontent that so many characters express. Maybe a lot of them married because they wanted a change from hum-drum Spoon River life?
Spoon River Anthology
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Er, modern: Though, of course, it's a modern narrative that seems like the stuff of post-modern narrative.
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Did David Lynch read this book?: I picture Spoon River, Illinois as a picket-fenced town where everyone grins at each other when they pass on the sidewalks. But it's Lynchian in the way hatred, murder, & hysteria goes unacknowledged until these people are able to speak from the grave. The picket-fence town not being what it seems is a theme that clogs the media now, but Masters' vision of the unvoiced crimes and tragedies of small town life was radical for 1915, and these bracingly real characters are still shocking.
The post-modern narrative, which I apparently can't stop commenting on, also seems like a Lynch film. The puzzle is part of the thrill of this anthology.
Spoon River Anthology
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Narrative (2): At this point, though, I feel that the narrative is very broken up-- there are interesting threads that I wish he would follow up on. Though I guess with so many more narratives to come, he still has plenty of chances to do that. Hopefully it won't be too hard to follow if that happens!
Spoon River Anthology
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Narrative: Genius the way he uses these monologues to piece together a larger narrative!
Spoon River Anthology
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
The dead speak: What do you think of the fact that these characters are all dead?
Spoon River Anthology
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Occupation and insight: Masters uses a skillful technique as he uses characters' occupations to comment on human psychology and behavior.
Spoon River Anthology
Friday, July 31, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Minor characters: Masters does an expert job creating memorable minor characters even in the intro. With 200+ characters still to go, it's good that even the walk-ons are vivid. Many other writers have used a technique of listing minor characters and adding touches of detail that make them stick in your mind. On a less technical note, this passage is a lovely one-- a fiddler who "plays with life."
Spoon River Anthology
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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