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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
slow-paced
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Alcohol
This was a very good book, and I can certainly see why it won the Pulitzer Prize. It is generally considered to be based on the life of Huey Long, the Louisiana Kingfisher; not knowing all that much about Huey Long, I will defer to people with more knowledge on that score. However, the political aspect of the book is only a minor part of the story. Even more than the politics, the story is of the narrator's search for meaning in his life.
There are multiple, interwoven plot lines. The development of the narrator's love life is separate from the political story, but could not have occurred without the development of the political story. Likewise, the narrator's family life needed the political story to develop, but is separate from the political aspects. This all sounds confusing, I'm sure, if you haven't read the book, but it's not, in large part because Robert Penn Warren is a significantly better writer than I am. You won't feel lost at any point, everything flows in a cohesive story, and the story is well-told.
There are multiple, interwoven plot lines. The development of the narrator's love life is separate from the political story, but could not have occurred without the development of the political story. Likewise, the narrator's family life needed the political story to develop, but is separate from the political aspects. This all sounds confusing, I'm sure, if you haven't read the book, but it's not, in large part because Robert Penn Warren is a significantly better writer than I am. You won't feel lost at any point, everything flows in a cohesive story, and the story is well-told.
Power, corruption, consequences of actions in politics--hmm, seems so contemporary. Such a great book.
A serious, ambitious, somewhat overwritten classic political novel. The first five hundred pages pass in a blur as Warren follows the rise to power of Willie Stark and the moral conflicts of Jack Burden, his right-hand man. The last few chapters devolve into operatic melodrama - over-the-top tragedy, whiplash-inducing plot developments, poetic passages in which our intrepid narrator tries to make sense of it all.
I'm getting ready to read Faulkner again and am constantly reminded of the "Burden" of history in the South, of the desire for goodness in a world mired in sin. The original sin of our country was slavery - the South was Eve, the beautiful sensual wife who brought the fruit of knowledge to the lips of the Union. We were cast out of the Garden with the Civil War - our own innocence and ideals were stained and we began the long process of living with each other, a fallen people in a vast land who have little in common.
Southern writers understand that nothing is pure, that an attempt to keep up appearances only causes the poison under the surface to roil more violently.
Near the end of All the King's Men, Jack's supposed father says that "the creation of evil is therefore the index of God's glory and His power." This is the paradox of the world that Willie Stark knew in his deepest instinctual fiber - that we are constantly being made to sin against ourselves and each other, but that this sin can also lead to redemption.
I'm getting ready to read Faulkner again and am constantly reminded of the "Burden" of history in the South, of the desire for goodness in a world mired in sin. The original sin of our country was slavery - the South was Eve, the beautiful sensual wife who brought the fruit of knowledge to the lips of the Union. We were cast out of the Garden with the Civil War - our own innocence and ideals were stained and we began the long process of living with each other, a fallen people in a vast land who have little in common.
Southern writers understand that nothing is pure, that an attempt to keep up appearances only causes the poison under the surface to roil more violently.
Near the end of All the King's Men, Jack's supposed father says that "the creation of evil is therefore the index of God's glory and His power." This is the paradox of the world that Willie Stark knew in his deepest instinctual fiber - that we are constantly being made to sin against ourselves and each other, but that this sin can also lead to redemption.
There are parts of this book that I did not prefer (some of the language), but I expect that it would be fairly realistic dialog for these characters in the era in which this was set. The character study here is fascinating. It was not a light read, but was very worthwhile.
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes