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janeeyre1847's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"Much of the old brutal ignorance that had in it also a kind of beautiful childlike ignorance is gone forever. The farmer by the stove is brother to the men of the cities, and if you listen you will find him talking as glibly and as senselessly as the best city man of us all."
Beautiful in how familiar and foreign these characters and the town of Winesburg are to me, a 21st century woman from Connecticut.
Beautiful in how familiar and foreign these characters and the town of Winesburg are to me, a 21st century woman from Connecticut.
abigailortiz11's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jwilding's review against another edition
4.0
"On and on went her voice. It was not harsh or shrill as when she talked to her husband, but was like rain falling on trees."
"The outer crust of her life, all of her natural diffidence and reserve, was torn away and she gave herself over to the emotions of love."
"Her back was straight, her shoulders square, and her features were as the features of a tiny goddess on a pedestal in a garden in the dim light of a summer evening."
""If you are to become a writer you'll have to stop fooling with words,' she explained. 'It would be better to give up the notion of writing until you are better prepared. Now it's time to be living. I don't want to frighten you, but I would like to make you understand the import of what you think of attempting. You must not become a mere peddler of words. The thing to learn is to know what people are thinking about, not what they say.'"
"The most absurd little things made Tom Foster happy. That, I suppose, was why people loved him. In Hern's Grocery they would be roasting coffee on Friday afternoon, preparatory to the Saturday rush of trade, and the rich odor invaded lower Main Street. Tom Foster appeared and sat on a box at the rear of the store. For an hour he did not move but sat perfectly still, filling his being with the spicy odor that made him half drunk with happiness. 'I like it,' he said gently. 'It makes me think of things far away, places and things like that.'"
"'Love is like a wind stirring the grass beneath trees on a black night,' he had said. 'You must not try to make love definite. It is the divine accident of life. If you try to be definite and sure about it and to live beneath the trees, where soft night winds blow, the long hot day of disappointment comes swiftly and the gritty dust from passing wagons gathers upon lips inflamed and made tender by kisses.'"
"In youth, there are always two forces fighting in people. The warm unthinking little animal struggles against the thing that reflects and remembers, and the older, the more sophisticated thing had possession of George Willard."
"The outer crust of her life, all of her natural diffidence and reserve, was torn away and she gave herself over to the emotions of love."
"Her back was straight, her shoulders square, and her features were as the features of a tiny goddess on a pedestal in a garden in the dim light of a summer evening."
""If you are to become a writer you'll have to stop fooling with words,' she explained. 'It would be better to give up the notion of writing until you are better prepared. Now it's time to be living. I don't want to frighten you, but I would like to make you understand the import of what you think of attempting. You must not become a mere peddler of words. The thing to learn is to know what people are thinking about, not what they say.'"
"The most absurd little things made Tom Foster happy. That, I suppose, was why people loved him. In Hern's Grocery they would be roasting coffee on Friday afternoon, preparatory to the Saturday rush of trade, and the rich odor invaded lower Main Street. Tom Foster appeared and sat on a box at the rear of the store. For an hour he did not move but sat perfectly still, filling his being with the spicy odor that made him half drunk with happiness. 'I like it,' he said gently. 'It makes me think of things far away, places and things like that.'"
"'Love is like a wind stirring the grass beneath trees on a black night,' he had said. 'You must not try to make love definite. It is the divine accident of life. If you try to be definite and sure about it and to live beneath the trees, where soft night winds blow, the long hot day of disappointment comes swiftly and the gritty dust from passing wagons gathers upon lips inflamed and made tender by kisses.'"
"In youth, there are always two forces fighting in people. The warm unthinking little animal struggles against the thing that reflects and remembers, and the older, the more sophisticated thing had possession of George Willard."
brunogcarr's review against another edition
3.0
Mais meia estrela pelos contos finais. Todas estas pequenas histórias, mais ou menos interligadas, estão muito bem escritas, mas a verdade é que apenas uma meia dúzia delas foram capazes de me fazer sentir alguma coisa.
roxnn2000's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of short stories that all take place in a small Ohio town.
Some of the stories were interesting and some I just didn’t get the point. Perhaps it’s not the right time in my life for this book, or I’m not the right audience for it.
The stories I liked I would read again alone, but for the most part I just found the whole book hard to get through. Maybe I’ll try it again later in my life and see if my thoughts on it change.
Some of the stories were interesting and some I just didn’t get the point. Perhaps it’s not the right time in my life for this book, or I’m not the right audience for it.
The stories I liked I would read again alone, but for the most part I just found the whole book hard to get through. Maybe I’ll try it again later in my life and see if my thoughts on it change.
cozylis's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
5.0
It's hard to describe this book, but it left me close to tears, not of sadness, more from a sort of fullness and wonder at life. In some ways a "coming of age" story, it manages to be so much more, largely because the focus on the main character is so loose. The depictions of dozens of people, the way the struggles they have in common yet hide away in the privacy of their rooms or thoughts, do not in any way feel disorganized. The book at once meanders and builds steadily to the end. The phrase "the sadness of sophistication" particularly struck me as beautiful. I have not read anything so moving in a long time.
jvmpbvndles's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
lrsreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
smusie's review against another edition
4.0
Apparently, people used to take a lot of walks at night.