A saga-like tale of Norwegian immigrants to America, specifically to Dakota territory, travelling in covered wagons, living in sod huts dug into the ground, isolation, blizzards, planting & plagues of locusts, this book will make you feel you were there.

This story is also about the marriage between Per & Beret Hansa, a difficult relationship: He wanted to emigrate and she did not but went along with him, unfortunately it is all too much for her and she loses her mind. I think this book presents a very realistic picture of marital relations of that time.

The ending was somewhat bizarre and made me laugh out loud though I'm not sure it was supposed to be funny. I intend to read the sequel and will probably reread this one again one day, it's a great immigrant/pioneer classic.

For years, my father repeatedly urged me to read this book about the pioneer life of Norwegian immigrants. Although my father is from Texas and has no Norwegian roots, he read this book in high school and it apparently made quite an impact upon him. Moreover, my great-grandmother on my mother's side immigrated from Norway around 1900 and this gives me some insight into her experience. The author does an outstanding job of conveying the mental as well as the physical struggles that pioneer families faced in the 1870's. I never contemplated that the isolation of pioneer life could be so difficult. The book was a quick read after the first 50 or so pages, and I am now moving on to Peder Victorious. I am glad I finally followed my father's advice.

Having grown up on the prairie, I have always found the tales of pioneer life absolutely intriguing. Both sides of my family come from pioneer roots and stories such as "Giants in the Earth" never fail to move me.

This novel was particularly wonderful. I wasn't sure what to expect when I began to read "Giants in the Earth." Having never read Rolvaag I was a little nervous, but it has turned out to be an experience that has helped to guide my course of studies over the past year.

The character development is extraordinary. One can't help but feel an intimate attraction to the characters and Rolvaag's dramatic portrayal of their lifestyle can't help but inspire empathy in readers.

The characters each inspire different emotions - Per Hansa: Pride; Beret - Frustration!

I would strongly recommend this book to anyone looking for an absolutely unbiased portrayal of pioneer life. It will inspire you.

In the early-mid '80s, I never missed APHC. There's no denying that Keillor possesses two gifts: a rare sense of humor, and that marvellous voice that was destined for radio.

Unfortunately, with success came change; the same change that overcame Bill Cosby, turning his once-charming sitcom into a politically correct weekly lecture.

Likewise, Keillor apparently decided that with his fame and fortune came the obligation to make the world a better place by spreading the good news of liberalism. Hence his tiresome attacks against Reagan, Bush, et al. The sad thing is that before he was overcome by this sense of his own importance, he WAS making the world a better place - with gentle humor, good music, and good talk. If only he had retained enough modesty to leave it at that.

Garrison Keillor may be the plainest funny man in America, but he's also the funniest man in America.

You can't go wrong with this excellent compilation.

Garrison Keillor is nothing less than I genius. I listen to his stories while I clean my Northwoods cabins and they take me completely away from the fact that I'm making 33 beds and scrubbing kitchens and bathrooms. They whisk me to the lovely place known as Lake Wobegon and make me laugh out loud. I highly recommend this collection.

This book tells a story of a hard life, but without great bitterness or constant regret. It has the voice of a modest person who has reluctantly agreed to tell us some of the truths about life if we are willing to slow down and listen. The narrator is an orphan boy who is adopted by a Minnesota farm family in the early 1920's. The story covers his life from early childhood to young adulthood. At all times in the book the narrator is very concerned with discovering his birth mother. The narrator is adopted and raised to be a "hired man"; a laborer for his adoptive parents. The book tells many stories about conditions in a America that seems to be centuries away in attitudes and practices. Was life better or worse in that "simpler" time? The author lays out both cases often in the same episode. As like so many people in the Midwest who have rural area relatives, ancestors or other connections, I very much appreciated learning about Minnesota farm life during that era, attitudes toward children, and views of the outside world and events by rural people of that day. The narrators coninual search for his birth mother is also especially touching.

Lloyd A. Clausen is adopted, but he is alone. The adversity he faces as a child, shapes him as a man. Even at a tender age, he simply plays the hand that he is dealt, and manages to show the mature understanding that people are capable of good as well as bad. A heartbreaking story that is beautifully told. You want to give Lloyd Clausen a hug to get him over the next tragedy. If you are not moved by this book, you won't be moved by any book.

I, too, could not put this book down once I started reading it. This story has a most authentic ring to it and moved me to tears quite a few times throughout. The story of Loyd's childhood is delivered without fanfare, yet it seems almost lyrical all the while effectively depicting rural life in the Midwest during the 20s, 30s, and 40s. Terrific and insightful characterization, too; I wanted to hate Ma and Pa but, as Loyd eventually did, I ended up feeling sorry for them and could forgive them in the end. I felt as if I had actually met most of these people described in the book. I'm grateful I picked this book up and recommend it wholeheartedly!

Little House on the Prairie By: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Would you like to live in a covered wagon for a year?

If you like adventures, Little House on the Prairie is for you. It's about a family that is moving to a prairie where Indians show up. You will have to read the book to find out what happens next.

I loved reading this book because it had nice illustrations and I loved the characters. This book is for kids 9-14 who love to read.

"The Big Woods are Getting too Crowded." The Wilder family must sell their cozy house and move away from the big woods. They travel in a covered wagon with their watch-dog Jake running behind them. After some long days of camping and eating only meat and corn-bread, ma, pa, Mary and Laura came into a large prairie. Pa builds a nice log house and a safe log stable for the horses, Pet and Patty. They soon discover that indians are camping very near. Will the indians take all Pa's tobacco? Will they eat all the corn-bread? To find out, read Little House on the Prairie! I recommend this book because it is about life on a wild prairie that holds many suprises! I enjoyed when their dog came to them when they thought he had drowned.

In my opinion: This may be a children's book, but it's just as good if not better for adults. The writing is simple but not insulting. The story itself is captivating. The occurences between the settlers and the American Indians were really amazing. All through the eyes of a little girl.

Laura Wilder had an amazing gift to tell stories and to make an accurate picture of the time she grew up in and of what she thought and felt as a girl. This is not like the show in many respects though. If you only want to read about the exact characters and stories from the show, this may surprise you. Mr. Edwards is not in here much and you won't see characters like Albert or Mr. Oleson in this book. As they live on the prairie, there is no school or store, only a few neighbors a few miles away. Also Indians which only actually show up now and then.

Again it is a story about hard work and family sticking together. Superior to the first book in that you already know alot of the mundane [though very interesting]details of their daily life, and the characters. Now it is full of story. The interactions with wild life alone are astounding as taken for fact. They are not just the amusing tid bits from the first book, but quite dangerous and spellbinding ones.

Fantastic book for anybody. The whole series is great.

There is something special about The Lemon Jelly Cake! Reminiscient of Jan Karon's fictional town of Mitford, Babcock Smith's story takes place in sleepy Tory, Illinois at the turn of the century. Tory is the kind of town where your neighbors know your business and the only crime is getting beat by your rival at the pickle competition.

Told through the eyes of 11-year-old Helene Bradford, The Lemon Jelly Cake chronicles the first summer of the new century and all the happenings it brings. The cake itself plays a double role in this story: Helene's mother, Kate's, own specialty dessert that is eaten at all funerals, weddings or social functions, as well as representing life and it's many layers. When a rich lawyer from Chicago comes to town, Kate interprets his level of sophistication and adventure as what life would be like outside the Tory layer.

This novel, written in 1952, has a wonderful appeal to it -- it brings readers back to a simpler time. There isn't any dramatic action in this book, but for those looking for an old-fashioned story, quirky characters, and small-town charm, this book is for you.

Turn of last century, small town in Illinois tale told through the eyes of one of two of the most well known eleven year old girls in town. ( One is the Doctor's daughter, the other is the ministers daughter.) They know the dirt in town, yet are humorously innocent as well.

It is like stepping back in time, via a Disney production, and only being delighted and entertained.

Light fare for traveling back to a gentler time.

Helene and her best friend, Gracie, enjoy the delights of growing up in a small town in Illinois in the early 1900s. Helene's Mother is known throughout the community for her Lemon Jelly Cake, which she regularly makes for church socials and whenever special company comes. When a certain lawyer from another town begins to come to dinner fairly often and the Lemon Jelly Cake becomes his favorite, Helene observes events through the innocent eyes of a carefree child.

This is an enchanting -- and sometimes hilarious -- story of small town life in a quieter, gentler age. At the same time the reader is reminded of the ever-so-human urge for excitement and passion in each person's life.

Skillfully written, sympathetically observed, the story progresses with an almost fearful inevitability.

It's a terrible shame that Madeline Babcock Smith didn't live long enough to write more books like this. Her skills at portraying delightful, enchanting and realistic characters and at executing one story while writing another are awesome.

THE LEMON JELLY CAKE is reminiscent of Jan Karon's Mitford series or Clarence Day's LIFE WITH FATHER/MOTHER books.

Sunnye Tiedemann (aka Ruth F. Tiedemann)

An interesting story of a woman's life and her struggle to raise her only son and teach him what is valuable in life. The Story is set in the late 1800 and early 1900's in rural and urban Chicago. The author called it "a book about cabbages..." but really, it's a story about Selina DeJong, orphaned as a young, wealthy child, who struggles to make a life for herself and her only child Dirk whom she has nicknamed "sobig". She marries a dolt for a husband and begins to work on a farm. Her husband is a small man with a small brain and is afraid of his own shadow which limits and frustrates Selina and keeps her from accomplishing anything for many years. Fortunately, her husband suffers an accidental death and she is fianlly able to make some necessary improvements which allow her son (who otherwise would have been a cabbage farmer his whole life) to attend college in the city. He succeeds in college, but when he gets out he sacrifices his dream profession(architecture) to make a lot of money doing something boring in finance, and in doing so, he misses the point his mother tried to teach him about success. (i.e. that money doesn't equal it.) This is a really good book with a wonderful and inspiring ending. If the whole book had been as good as the last couple chapters, I would have given it five stars easily. Although "So Big" isn't a famous book, Edna Ferber made it big with most of her others... You may have heard of a couple of them... "Giant" from which the Rock Hudson, James Dean film was made, and "Showboat", which was made into a sprawling musical. (My head aches just to think about it).

Without a doubt, _So Big_ is the best of all Edna Ferber's novels, and it was awarded the 1924 Pulitzer prize. It contains a strong portrayal of early 20th century midwestern agricultural life, which Ferber borrowed from her observations as a young women in Appleton, Wisconsin.

_So Big_ is the story of Dirk DeJong, and his mother Selina. After a colorful and tragic girlhood, she arrived as a schoolteacher in a Dutch farming community south of Chicago. She didn't quite fit in with the narrow-minded farmers and their overworked wives, yet she married a handsome farmer with notoriously unproductive land.

After his early death, she spends the next decades finding a market and coaxing a crop to grow in soggy land. By the time Dirk grows up, the "DeJong asparagus" is a success, and it enables his banking career. Yet he loses a sense of empathy and beauty, which Selina retains, despite her difficult path in life.

Ferber is the author who wrote _Show Boat_ and _Giant_. She could grind out popular dramatic fiction with loads of stock characters in a sentimentalized historic setting. But her later work loses the art found in _So Big_, which is peopled with multi-dimensional characters and a story which touches the reader's heart.

I highly recommend this book.

I loved this book. I am currently reading through the Pulitzer Prize winning novels and this is one of my favorites to date! The story reminds one of who you want to be - one who is strong, principaled and loving. The main charachter is a woman who faces virtually every challange that life has to offer and who still remains an individual of hope and direction. I thought that the novel was inspiring. The prose and the themes were engaging and very readable. The book reminds us to push on an be the people that we know that we can be.

A great inspiring book - read it.

After listening to just the first side of the first tape (a 2 tape set), I placed 3 gift orders for friends. I saved listening to the rest so I could savor it on my drive to and from work. If you like jokes, you'll really enjoy these tapes. Even oldies and "groaners" are fun when presented in the classic "Praire Home Companion" radio/stage show format. Very fast paced and entertaining, I recommend it highly. Hope there are more to come.

This tape is fun: rapid fire jokes that you might have even told yourself as a kid or an adult. For old or new, politically correct or politically incorrect jokes and everything inbetween, get this tape or CD and sit back and relax.

These jokes are hilarious and will keep you rolling for the length of the 2 CDs - and you *will* want to listen to them over and over again. You'll feel compelled to share the jokes with friends and co-workers - but you'll request they hear them from the source - as your joke-telling skills just won't match those of the master joke-tellers.

Nevermind the NPR Public Laughter Tapes - they are OK, but for real laughs, get the Pretty Good Jokes. You won't be disappointed!

Francis Parkman lived the Oregon Trail, slept it, ate it, marveled at it, and wrote an excellent memoir that leaves one with the feel of sand in your boots and the smell of buffalo roasting on the fire.

As a young man, Parkman went out west in 1846 to discover the American Indian. Setting out from Independence, Mo., Parkman proceeded to Ft. Larime (Wyoming), spent many weeks with a band of Indians as they hunted buffalo and secured life's necessities for the coming season, and returned to "the settlements" via Bent's Fort (Colorado) and the upper Santa Fe Trail. (Making this wonderful book misnamed since he was only on about the first 1/3 of the Oregon Trail and never crossed the Rockies).

What Parkman has left us is a wonderfully descriptive first person account of overland travel in the rugged west and the life of the Indian (as viewed by an outsider).

The strength of this book is in the details. Parkman has a keen eye whether it is turned towards imposing landscapes, Indian village life and travel, or buffalo hunting. This book has a gritty feel that paints the grandeur of western vistas as well as the hard reality of subsistence life (both Indian and white traveler) lived outdoors in a frequently unforgiving land.

Parkman's voice does have a 19th century feel. Modern readers will find he over-introduces new subjects (ie, "since, reader, we are telling of a buffalo hunt, now is a good time to acquaint you with the manner in which buffalo are brought to ground.") and the book does not have the flow associated with more contemporary writing. His attitudes towards Indians reflect the majority view of that time period and he was certainly at times a gratuitous hunter.

But the book's descriptive power, as well as the fascinating telling of life among the Indians and on the plains makes this well worth the time. This is a first person account that speaks of authenticity and gave me a feel for "what it must have been like." A good read.

This is a lively, energetic and realistic account of life in the 1846 American West. Parkman's "Oregon Trail" is considered a timeless, historical masterpiece and rightfully so. Only twenty three years old, he and his friend Quincy Adams Shaw went west "on a tour of curiosity and amusement to the Rocky Mountains". Stopping off at Fort Laramie, we acquire a taste of what life was like there in those early days of overland emigrants, trappers, traders, Indians and "ruffians". He then spends time with the Sioux, observing and describing their behavior, culture and customs while in the Laramie Mountains and Valley, and the foothills of the Medicine Bow Mountains. From here, Parkman and Shaw travel down the front range of Colorado to Pueblo, Bent's Fort and back to St. Louis via the Arkansas River. Being a very descriptive writer, we gain an insightful and vivid look as to geographical landforms and the characters who lived in those days. Excellent.

Before his death in the early 1890's, Francis Parkman would be hailed by many as North America's greatest historian. One of his first major works, The Oregon Trail, illustrates why. Written in 1847, the book chronicles an extensive journey by the youthful Parkman and his loyal friend Quincy Shaw the previous spring and summer. Parkman's express purpose was to see the "real" American West and live among "real" American Indians before their way of life passed forever. A vigorous young man, possessed of a keen intellect and observant eye, and already blessed with a rare and masterful prose style, Parkman chronicles his journey from St. Louis into the heart of the largely "unknown" American Plains. Peopled then by only a few white traders, trappers and ruffians, slowly pushing their way into the domain of the Pawnee, Comanche, Arapaho, Dakota, "Shienne", Snakes and Crows, the West was a truly wild and dangerous place - and Parkman revels in it, providing meticulous descriptions of the landscape, people, and struggle for life and lifeways that would soon be no more.

Along the way Parkman introduces you to the men of Fort Laramie (established and maintained by traders, long before soldiers came to the territory), lives amongst a Dakota band, hunts buffalo, weathers awe-inspiring Plains' thunderstorms and periods of drought, explores the Black Hills, the Rocky Mountains, and New Mexico. His journey takes him up the Missouri River, the Platte, the Arkansas and more. And far more than describe fascinating places and events, Parkman charms with full renderings of the characters he meets along the way: redoubtable hunter and guide Henry Chatillion, muleteer and cook Delorier, the dolorous Raymond and Reynal, jester Tete Rouge, hundreds of loathesome "pioneers", Indians Mene-Seela, Smoke, Whirlwind, Hail Storm, Big Crow and more. All characters worthy of Mark Twain. Plus, we are made witness to Parkman and Shaw's slow transformation from adventurous young Bostonian scholars to worthy "plainsmen".

Even before finishing his college studies, Parkman declared that his ambition was to chronicle the "struggle for the continent". He achieved his goal in glorious measure. Parkman's works on the founding of "New France", LaSalle's explorations, the French/Indian Wars, Pontiac's conspiracy, Montcalm and Wolfe, etc., remain standards today, rich source material for authors from DeVoto to Eckert.

His brilliance lies in the fact that Parkman was no "arm chair" historian. His research was not limited to books and papers found in libraries from Boston to London and Paris. He personally visited nearly every town, battlefield, and waterway he wrote about. Parkman was also deeply committed to understanding the effects of the English/French/American struggles for the continent on the hundreds of North American tribes that were caught in the middle. To wit, the "Oregon Trail" trip to the Plains of the 1840s was designed to assist the historian's mind in understanding what was lost by eastern tribes decimated during the wars and land-lust of the preceding century. Even then Parkman foresaw a similar misfortune for western tribes: loss of free roaming on their ancestral lands; extinction of the buffalo; the ravaging effects of disease, whiskey and other evils of white contact. But Parkman was no romantic. He refers to the various tribes and some individuals (both white and red) as "savages", revealing a touch of his mid-1800s Bostonian elitism, yet by no means can Parkman be considered a closed-minded misanthrope. His life's work, starting with The Oregon Trail, reveals far too much sensitivity and fairness of thought for that label to stick. Read this, then dive into Parkman's later work on the history of Canada and early America. It is astonishingly good stuff!

I read the book with great interest both from a prepective of learning about a potential enviromental violation and how local and even state and federal regulators viewed this sitition. I became more enamered in how a community and some strong leadership emerged in a community to deal with forces who did not want to recognoze that the local citizenry should or could get involed. The strength of the author and others in the community became evident as I continued to read. To walk with them as these various strengths began to develop or rather manifest themselves as they deal with unfamiliar forces was thrilling and uplifting. We read all the time how individuals draw on untapped reserves of strength but seldom do we hear of entire communities doing so. Great book, exciting story and I hope to see more of Ms Varlamoff.

Kenneth L. Turner

"The Polluters - A Community Fights Back" is an exciting account of how a suburban community, led by Susan Varlamoff, the author, fought against a major, national "waste-management" company that was already in the process of dumping all kinds of garbage, including toxic waste, in its immediate neighborhood. The heartwarming outcome is that Ms. Varlamoff and the community won in the court of public opinion. You can fight City Hall, and the big-money special interests that sometimes influence it.

Although this could in fact serve as a handbook for organizing resistance to dangerous environmental incursions into our neighborhoods, it is so much more. It is a dramatic story about a brave woman and her courageous compatriots and why they came to the conclusion that they could not afford to stand idly by while their children's health was put at risk. What flows from this conclusion involves all the drama and human interest usually found in a first-rate novel. You will not see the world around you in the same way, once you have read this book.

"Studs Lonigan" written by James T Farrell follows the life of William "Studs" Lonigan from the ages of sixteen to thirty. Originally three separate novels, this book was ground breaking in its day for its gritty realistic portrayal of life in an urban centre frilled with the trappings of alcohol, violence, womanising, an array of street characters yet also, family, loyalty, disillusionment, media and historic commentary. In essence Farrell has created a massive work using 57th and Indiana on Chicago's Southside as a microcosm for a varity of themes, notably the changing position of the Irish community in America, the effects of the great Depression, World War one and youthful idealism with modern actuality. This story is overall one of tragedy on two levels. For Studs he dies young realising in sure strides that he is overall very little, contrasted to the headstrong youth that based himself after the gallery of cinematic idols he perceived. Yet also for a time and place that was obviously a watershed for the author, Stud's degeneration mirrors other aspects Farrell sees as problematic in Modern America. The book narrative basically takes us through Studs life. We first meet him as a young boy of sixteen. He stares at the mirror practising his sneer and chews a cigarette in the typical tough guy manner of his day. His father, a well to do Irish-American businessman, and mother wants him to become a painter and priest respectively. What follows however is a catalogue of Studs adventures with the street corner element of Chicago, brandishing memorable characters like Weary Reilly, Tommy Doyle, Slug Mason and Five Star Hennessey. Generally a coming off age tale where love, labour, alcohol and violence mingle, Studs dreams of being a football star, of going to war, of being the toughest guy on the block, of getting married, of taking the world by the throat and strangling it into submission. However as the story develops he is increasingly disempowered. His appearance in it self is not enough to attract girls so he has to rely on his tough hard edged image to win their emotions adding to his inner confusion of never being able to say what he wants confidently to the opposite sex. Alcohol and casual violence with run ins with less conscionable compatriots i.e. Reilly eventually lead him to phneumia and a weak heart. By his climatic fight with his younger brother in which Studs is overpowered his mental fall is complete. No longer the tough guy, just a guy. What marks Studs out, as an original protagonist is his is thoughtful questioning nature. His hard image ride on his belief of his own invincibility-which of course lies more in fiction and cinema than in reality. Studs ideas of romance and heroism are all evoked through his inner images. When these colourful fairy tale ideals are broken which form the tone through roughly half the novel something in Studs is gone and you can feel the dark clouds gather. Farrell here I feel makes the universal point of what should be and what is and the passed on notions that encircle certain activities. The fall of Studs is the fall of all dreamers that's why in sympathy for Studs almost reflects sympathy for us. Where Studs fails, is where we fail. Farrell's innovative use of slang (authentic street language) all through the book acts to bring the reader completely into the mindset and place of the characters. The speech patterns and gritty tough guy mannerisms and comments are realistic shown to let the novel act as a commentary of a time and a place. The language in the book is colourful, vivid, edgy, realistic and vital. Vital because of Farrell's obvious aims. To bring a person into your known place you need to firstly to place them in the street (the detailed descriptions of 57th on Indiana achieve this.) Next, place them in the mindset of a central character in this environment (the narration of Studs Lonigan). Then give your readers a key into this community (the ultimate key of language). James T Farrell uses the language so completely and accurately because he realised its importance in life as a real thing (Stylised writing describing these people just would not work on any level) and he brilliantly manipulates it to forfeit the above criteria. Another vital aspect of the novel is the amount of detail that Farrell reveals the divergence of ethnic transition in twentieth century America. His neighbourhood is one of Irish abstraction, white and blue collar. The Irish being the first mayor emigrant group to land in mass in the United States formed the first "ghetto" like neighbourhoods, which for all the wrongs associated with such sections of the urban arena also brought a sense of transplanted community and a sense of belonging. Studs early life is increasingly bothered by the rumours of an imminent black shift through distant neighbourhoods coming ever closer to their own area. Threats and blame are passed yet eventually that foreign object a "black face" becomes common leading to the exodus of the Irish community. This transition occours at an exceeding rate. By the books climax Studs father returns to the old neighbourhood unable to recognise or accept his forced separation from an area that formed his past. Here is a man with a dying son, bankrupt due to the Depression and without even the security of place to pacify his mind. Yet what are the questions Farrell is posing us through such transitions. Is Farrell blaming the spread of other ethnics for the decline of urban community? Is he lamenting the weakening of the hold of the Irish community on American life and politics? Is he a racist? The answer I believe is none of the above. Here is a man of a certain ethnic group who has lived to see his own past become a thing of memory. Lonigan Senior portrays Farrell in the novel. The old times and ways are gone, in Modern America what was stable does not last long, The sway, movement and influxes represent American expansion and growth, its greatness if you like but Farrell points to generations dislocated and a population with out roots. Lack of roots breeds uncertainty. Such issues and thoughts are not uncommon in modern American literature yet Farrell handles the ideas objectively. We ask and answer our own questions in the book. Overall Studs Lonigan is a fascinating piece of fiction. Farrell deals with enough motifs, ideals and elements to fill many more novels. Yet his achievements are in creating a thoroughly sympathetic and realistic character in Studs Lonigan, a character we can root for, learn from and grow with. He identifies us with a whole neighbourhood, puts us in that place and time and leads us through a series of events, both on a personal and a historic level. To retain interest and to create such lasting effect is the mark of a great (and largely forgotten) writer working at the peak of his powers. A must read mingling history, fiction and a central protagonist whose struggle with life never quite leaves you.

Many a person may be intimidated by the length of this great work of literature, and never take the time to read it. Do not be one of those unfortunate souls. This book is truly not to be missed.

While pieces of the book focus on depression era politics and problems (for a more detailed analysis of the plot, see Mike O Farrell's review below), the themes that run throughout this novel have been with us since the very beginning of time. At its heart, this story is about a young man who has always imagined greatness for himself. He lives deep inside the recesses of his own mind (as we all do) and accordingly finds it hard to believe that he is not unique, somehow different from all of his friends, family, and acquaintances. James T. Farrell's tragedy unfolds as Studs slowly comes to realize that he is just another guy, making his own way through this life and trying to make just a little bit of sense out of it all.

If you have come to literature to find some answers, this is probably not your book. Like all great novelists, Farrell is simply showing you the way he sees things, and bringing up enough raw material from the detritus of life to make you stop, and think, and wonder.

Farrell's groundbreaking work is perhaps the best example of American naturalism that we have. It is the story of the rather brief life of the working class Irish protagonist, Studs, who grows up and comes to manhood on the South Side of Chicago. Studs lives through poverty and the Depression, but not without paying a terrible psychic price. Through a relentless piling up of detail, Farrell is able to convincingly present his thesis, that social, political, cultural, and most of all economic forces conspire to decisively shape human character and choice.

The novel unflinchingly portrays the violence, chauvanism, and racism that pervades the lives of Studs and his friends. They despise those more privileged than themselves, have complete contempt for women, and fiercely distrust anyone from outside their neighborhood, particularly those with a different skin color. They wear their toughness with pride and have no patience for expressions of sensitivity or remorse.

Yet from the opening chapter, Farrell takes pains to show that the young Lonigan is not immune to feelings of tenderness and even love. His portrayal of Studs' romantic adolescent longing for Lucy is convincing and touching, and the author's presentation of it early in the book makes more convincing his documentation of Studs' progressively hardening view of life.

Another key element of the trilogy is its sketching of a character increasingly dwarfed by forces beyond his control and understanding. In one key scene, Studs, close to despair as he feels his life slipping away from him, stands by the shores of Lake Michigan and watches the waves pound against the rocks. It's a beautifully naturalistic scene: Farrell uses the images of real life to create symbols of Studs' feelings of helplessness in a world he doesn't understand.

The trilogy is primarily about loss. Farrell, I believe, felt that it was difficult for boys like Studs to escape their fate, but he did not feel it was impossible. What was required was character of a sterner stuff than Studs possessed. Studs comes to stand for a generation that wasted its potential on alcohol, petty crime, and on a foolish pursuit of the quick buck. Where imagination was required to dream up a world different than the one to which he was born, Studs settled for the here and now, and it cost him dearly.

"Studs Lonigan" takes the reader into a world that Farrell knew firsthand. He makes you live in the world of doomed youth and refuses to pull any punches, right up until the last page has been turned.