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danabrown's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A big story - feels like a movie. Lots of extremes, lots of big characters. I read books like this when I was a teen in the seventies. They were old fashioned even then.
rhondaraider's review against another edition
4.0
Great character descriptions! The story takes place in the early 1900s, near Chicago. Selina begins the story as a young girl and comes into her own over decades. Her son, Dirk, grows up to become someone with very different values. Edna Ferber really gets her characters: simple farmers, entrepreneurs, socialites, sufferers of unrequited love.
The end matter talks about the book title. Ferber didn't like it, had simply used it as a placeholder. It's about as wrong a title as I can think of! Better would have been her other idea, Selina, the name of the female protagonist. The story of how So Big won the Pulitzer Prize, at the back of the book, also is interesting. So political!
The end matter talks about the book title. Ferber didn't like it, had simply used it as a placeholder. It's about as wrong a title as I can think of! Better would have been her other idea, Selina, the name of the female protagonist. The story of how So Big won the Pulitzer Prize, at the back of the book, also is interesting. So political!
icbikecommuter's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed reading The High Sierra by Kim Stanley Robinson and in it he proposes landmarks in the Sierras be renamed after famous women authors- all of whom I had read with the exception of Edna Ferber! How have I let that happen? No wonder this book won the Pulitzer Prize. This book was written in 1926 and set in 1890s- 1920s. Selina may be my new favorite lead female character. I love her value system- she is determined and hard working yet values beauty and wants her son to know the depth of what it means to really live. If the author lived in Ottumwa I wonder if she knew my ancestors. I’ll be reading all of her books! I understand they all have a strong female lead.
briel_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I'm giving this five stars because I was obsessed with reading it and thinking about 1923. It was powerful to read a book written at the time it took place and really be in that time. I also am very impressed with [a:Edna Ferber|86241|Edna Ferber|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1367347524p2/86241.jpg] and her life.
terik's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
emma_m_thomas's review against another edition
5.0
Oh. I absolutely adored this book.
It feels like Great Gatsby but mostly from a woman’s perspective. If it’s not considered a Classic, it should be.
It feels like Great Gatsby but mostly from a woman’s perspective. If it’s not considered a Classic, it should be.
jbrugge's review against another edition
4.0
Another find from browsing LibriVox that was surprisingly good, both story and narrator. You get to know the lives of multiple characters so that it feels like multiple stories by the end.
rlwittrock's review against another edition
3.0
A classic look at the "simplicity" of the rural / first-generation experience. I think I would have enjoyed this book a bit more had I allowed myself to become more absorbed by the characters.