book data
451 ratings,
4.14
average rating, 49 reviews
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published
November 1st 1999
by Lübbe
(first published 1988)
details
Paperback
isbn
3404920325
(isbn13: 9783404920327)
description
An American epic, rich in atmosphere and history, here is the story of a magnificent, unforgettable woman--a tale that sweeps from East to West, from …more
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| Busy as a Bee Books: The English Major by Jim Harrison | 13 | 21 | Dec 12, 2009 09:50AM |
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 598)
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avg 4.14
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
lovers of the West
It is unbelievable how much I love this book. I drool when thinking of it. I love Harrison's smooth, delicious writing and the language and feeling of the West comes out in every page. I love Dalva's character and her remembrances. This is totally the book for me and I have gone on to read tons more of Jim Harrison except his food book which is...boring.
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This book really excites me because Harrison is able to do so many things at once: imaginative storytelling/philosophy/history. His writing reads like a list of aphorisms (that aren't tiring) while plot sneaks in and unfolds.
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who's seen the plains
Maybe it just fits my mood, but I'll call Dalva one of the top 10 American novels ever written. Stark landscapes, warm people and cold selfish motivation. Most accurate depiction of the plains I've ever read.
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Read in January, 1988
recommends it for:
anyone
Great story. Amazing, articulate prose. I learned I could love a writer who loves hunting, fishing and Michigan. Who knew?
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Read in February, 2009
Three point five stars.
There are several male authors who are generally regarded as having a great ability to write from the perspective of a female character. When I read these authors I disagree with the assessment, most notably because they fail to capture the true complexity that is the essence of being a woman. Jim Harrison is an exception. With the character of Dalva, he explores all the layers of conflict and identity that are part of growing up female in a patriarchal...more
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Read in November, 2008
Dalva is really good, but I'm starting to wonder about the recurring themes Mr. Harrison wraps into many of his books.
I get it now: substance abuse, family dynasties and inherited trouble, gourmet food, human footprints upon the landscape, the healing powers of nature.
On a macro-level, the author returns to these themes to explore the fragility of human life in contrast with the resounding impacts of our activities on earth. Particularly important to this exposition is ...more
I get it now: substance abuse, family dynasties and inherited trouble, gourmet food, human footprints upon the landscape, the healing powers of nature.
On a macro-level, the author returns to these themes to explore the fragility of human life in contrast with the resounding impacts of our activities on earth. Particularly important to this exposition is ...more
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Read in August, 2009
I loved the first part of the book. Dalva is such a fascinating character, I wish I were more like her.
However, I hated the second part of the book and the Michael character. It was really hard to read through his narration and I also though the journal entries were really boring and I ended up skimming through a lot of it.
The third part was okay. So I'm overall ambivalent. I really wish the entire book was mostly the first part, but I know a lot of people love this book and...more
However, I hated the second part of the book and the Michael character. It was really hard to read through his narration and I also though the journal entries were really boring and I ended up skimming through a lot of it.
The third part was okay. So I'm overall ambivalent. I really wish the entire book was mostly the first part, but I know a lot of people love this book and...more
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A true American epic, in the best sense of the word, intimate, powerful, nostalgic. A great heroine. If only for this novel, Harrison deserves to be ranked among the greatest writers of his generation. And as deeply American as this book is (especially since it talks of the Native American tragedy), it's so intensely emotional and human that it really transcends all geographical frontiers. I know of many French people who love this book a great deal because it evokes for them what fascinates the...more
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This book and The Road Home are my favorites.
I became so invested in this story. I loved the way Harrison interwove a native family history with a white-western family and highlighted the complexities and challenges of it. His intimate knowledge with the Nebraska landscape was enchanting. I fell in love with this family and I wanted everything to work out for them.
I became so invested in this story. I loved the way Harrison interwove a native family history with a white-western family and highlighted the complexities and challenges of it. His intimate knowledge with the Nebraska landscape was enchanting. I fell in love with this family and I wanted everything to work out for them.
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One of my top 5 favorite writers. One of the few men who can write from a woman's perspective and mostly get it right. I would love to have the opportunity to go on a fishing trip with Harrison & Hemingway; both sensual, bawdy, rowdy sexist pigs this woman can help but adore.
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I have always loved Jim Harrison and thought I would love this book. I found it so tasteful because Dalva, the title character, was a man in a woman's body, Harrison typically writes gripping and masculine tales and I think this was a difficult feat for him.
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Read in December, 2008
Dalva is the first of a two part examination of a well to do but vaguely dysfunctional multi-generational family living in rural Nebraska during the early twentieth century. By weaving the same story multiple times from the viewpoint of different family member narrators he paints an interesting picture of the effects of a benevolent tyrant on successive generations. Harrison's love and understanding of Native Americans, especially the plains Indians, is an essential strand in the multiple stra...more
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Read in March, 2000
A scholar pursues the frontier roots of a beautiful woman. We hear the voice of each of them, but we don't much care what happens to them--and not much does except for getting drunk and getting laid.
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Read in June, 2009
I just closed it. This is the best reading experience I've ever had in my life. Finally. And I feel so grateful to Jim Harrison. I am all choked up. I can't speak.
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Read in January, 2008
Really enjoyed this book. I must admit, I was hesitant to read Jim Harrison, as I knew he wrote Legends of the Fall--I absolutely loathed the film and didn't read the book. The film reminded me of Bonanza, and Brad Pitt's character was this existential Little Joe. I have to say, though, that I was glad I read this. Dalva is the story of a middle-aged woman who looks back on her life and decides to find the son she gave up for adoption; however, there is much more here, including great charact...more
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Read in July, 2009
I couldn't possibly recommend this novel more strenuously. I will be reading this one periodically over the years.
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i liked his writing style, but at times got a bit confused. i'll read a couple more from this author.
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Read in January, 2007
companion book to The Road Home. a bit of a disappointment,
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In the mid-1980s, Jim Harrison began writing extensively about strong female characters, and he reached his pinnacle, in my opinion, with Dalva. You will see the same sexually free woman character in his novella Julip, but without the grand historical sweep that takes place in Dalva. Dalva's strength and personal discontent leads her back to her family homestead in Nebraska, where she confronts the mistakes of her own past. Dalva's saga is continued with the same force and beauty in The Road ...more
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