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Title: McTeague: A Story of San Francisco (Oxford World's Classics) by Frank Norris, Jerome Loving ISBN: 0-19-284059-2 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 January, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.29 (42 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Remorseless, brutal, utterly necessary
Comment: Some aspects of McTeague are a little on the amateurish side; it can be psychologically clumsy, and some of the symbolism seems a bit labored (hey, Norris was in his twenties, whaddaya expect?). This, however, is irrelevant, because, truly, it is the most visceral novel I've read in ages, pulling no punches, and with easily the most nightmarish ending I've ever encountered in a 'realistic' novel (whatever you do, don't spoil it for yourself). Norris's single token attempt at lightening the mood is a secondary romantic subplot, but really, you'll be so overwhelmed by the novel's main thread, you'll barely notice.
Norris was heavily, heavily influenced by Zola, and it shows on ever page. And, while his writing might not be up to that of The Man at his height (though if he hadn't died at thirty-two...the mind reels at the possibilities), he nonetheless displays all of Emile's best tendencies: the talent for atmosphere, the firm refusal to ever relent, the simply-drawn but deeply memorable characters...it's all there. Written in English, by an American. One of those things that might contribute to my being proud of my country, if not for various other issues.
Seriously, dudes and dudesses...it's difficult for me to imagine how one could fail to be awestruck by this novel. Anyone interested in American fiction, naturalism, or just kickass writing in general should most definitely not miss it.
Rating: 4
Summary: San Francisco's Greed
Comment: McTeague is Frank Norris's first novel and was published in 1899. It is the tragic story of a man who practices dentistry without a license and marries a girl who won $5000 in a lottery but keeps it all to herself. The first few years of their marriage are pleasant; the only negative thing is that his friendship with Marcus is over. He wanted to marry Trina, McTeague's wife and Marcus' niece, but did not get her. He tells the authorities and then the life of Trina and McTeague goes down. Without ever using money of the $5000 McTeague loses his practice and they grow apart. He starts hitting and abusing her and in the end does the most horrible thing. First she is maimed, later killed. McTeague flees and in off all places Death Valley meets Marcus again. Things can now be settled once and for all..
The book, though over a century old, is still very readable. The main theme seems to be greed, in fact a movie was made long ago called Greed, based on this novel. Set in San Francisco everyone is greedy and people even kill for money, everyone is suspicious that they are keeping secrets and are not telling everyone about the money they really possess. Greed leeds in the end to death. Also in Death Valley...
Rating: 5
Summary: McTeague Review
Comment: This book begins much like a work by Dreiser or Lewis, but soon turns cynical in a way that can only work if the style is also sneeringly funny. An acknowledgment of that wicked humor is what is missing from many of the other reviews here.
The characters are all selfish in their own way rather than truly greedy. (The movie "Greed" took "McTeague" as its inspiration.) They are also grotesques, which allows for the humor to work its magic without alienating us; something keeps us from wholly identifying with them, thus, we don't really feel their pain, but instead shake our heads at their miserable actions, all brought about by deficiencies of character. They want love and happiness and imagine stupidly that it is through wealth that they can achieve or be worthy of such virtues. This is the theme: wealth and security as misplaced substitutes for love and happiness in the modern world. Indeed, the image of gold spins through the novel in various contexts. I am not going to repeat the plot outline because some other reviews here have done that well.
When I finished this, I was convinced that it is one of the ten best American novels I have ever read, and that includes a lot of so-called "great" works. However, there is a reason this book is not mentioned in the same breath as "Huckleberry Finn" and "The Great Gatsby." There are truths here that high school teachers would perhaps not want their students to face; namely that acquisitiveness in its extremes can become a rather disturbing mental sickness. In our consumer culture, I think many are made uncomfortable by that possibility. I am reminded of the great Native American chiefs who stated that the pursuit of gold had made white men crazy.
I forget who said that an author in his work should be like God in the universe: everywhere present but visible nowhere. This novel reaffirmed that for me after reading so many painfully overwrought-- and overpraised-- postmodernist failures of the last thirty years or so. Agree or not, I won't mention their names: if you've read them, you know what I'm talking about. They're not for me.
McTeague is fresh, funny, meaningful, and plot-driven. Would that those qualities returned to contemporary American fiction, and the age of sententiousness, victimization, and "style" over substance would end.
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Title: The Rise of Silas Lapham (The Penguin American Library) by William Dean Howells ISBN: 0140390308 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1983 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Sister Carrie (Signet Classics (Paperback)) by Theodore Dreiser, Richard Lingeman ISBN: 0451527607 Publisher: Signet Classics Pub. Date: 10 April, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: The Octopus: A Story of California (Twentieth Century Classics) by Frank Norris ISBN: 0140187707 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Age of Innocence (The Modern Library Classics) by Edith Wharton ISBN: 0375753206 Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 01 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Pit: A Story of Chicago (Twentieth Century Classics) by Frank Norris, Joseph R McElrath, Gwendolyn Jones ISBN: 0140187588 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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