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13th out of 98 books
—
13 voters
Show Boat
by
Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber's classic paean of love to the Mississippi River and the showboats that ran up and down it is once again available in hardcover as a facsimile of the first edition. First published in 1926, this timeless tale of the Cotton Blossom, Cap'n Andy, his shrewd wife Parthy, and their beautiful daughter Magnolia her remarkable daughter Kim was made famous on Broadway i...more
Hardcover, Facsimile of the 1926 edition, 398 pages
Published
May 1st 2007
by Gramercy
(first published 1926)
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This book took me away from a difficult childhood and helped me escape into the world of books. It was a large and involved three generation, post civil war story of a strong, rigid Parhenia Hawks whose husband wanted to purchase a showboat and involved their children in the world of theatre. She was opposed. They travelled on the "Cotton Blossom" down the mighty Mississppi. Edna Ferber is a forgotten author now, but very popular in her day.This book went on to play on Broadway. You might know h...more
This is the book on which the perpetually-revived musical is based. The plotlines aren't really all that similar. I can easily understand why this was such a popular book in 1926. It's a sweeping story of three generations of theater folk. There's plenty of drama to go around; in a lot of ways it felt like any number of best-selling novels I've read.
The main issue for the modern reader is the racial aspects of this book. It was really ahead of it's time in its portrayal of blacks (by a white au...more
The main issue for the modern reader is the racial aspects of this book. It was really ahead of it's time in its portrayal of blacks (by a white au...more
Feb 21, 2011
Laura
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Laura by:
Bettie
Shelves:
audio-books,
read-2011
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
You know that seminal story from your childhood? The one you watched/read/listened to so often that your parents were ready to bribe you out of doing so again in order to save their own sanity? For me, that story was Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein's Show Boat. Specifically, a tape-recording of Show Boat that my dad dubbed for me off a library CD. I still have that tape; I listened to it so often as a kid that any articulation the bass may have had is completely worn away to a muddy "wahmmm" s...more
I think there's a little of everyone's childhood in this book. The magic part at any rate. I've never lived on a showboat and have no real connection to rivers in general and the Mississippi in particular. There's really very little in the main character with which I personally relate my own history. But the nectar-sweet nostalgia of this story still pulled me in, with its portrayal of a charmed childhood and the inevitable progression into the often harsh bubble-burstings of adulthood. As a nov...more
I think there's a little of everyone's childhood in this book. The magic part at any rate. I've never lived on a showboat and have no real connection to rivers in general and the Mississippi in particular. There's really very little in the main character with which I personally relate my own history. But the nectar-sweet nostalgia of this story still pulled me in, with its portrayal of a charmed childhood and the inevitable progression into the often harsh bubble-burstings of adulthood. As a nov...more
Great book about the life of a woman who grew up on a showboat on the Mississippi. Because it was written in 1926, the verbiage is modern enough for anyone to understand, but different enough to still feel like a classic.
My one warning would be that if you are sensitive to racial slurs, you should not read this book. Because of the setting and time period, combined with when it was written, the author uses them often. It shouldn't catch anyone off guard considering that the subject of the book d...more
My one warning would be that if you are sensitive to racial slurs, you should not read this book. Because of the setting and time period, combined with when it was written, the author uses them often. It shouldn't catch anyone off guard considering that the subject of the book d...more
My mother always told me that the spelling of my name came from Kathryn Grayson,
who was in the 1951 film of Show Boat. And as a child living along the Ohio River, I remember the Delta Queen stopping and giving open-air concerts from the boat. But I never saw the Kathryn Grayson movie, nor read the book, until now; and it’s a wonderful book, especially for a former river town girl to read (and review).
The book starts in the 1890′s, with the birth of Kim Ravenel on a show boat; she was given her u...more
who was in the 1951 film of Show Boat. And as a child living along the Ohio River, I remember the Delta Queen stopping and giving open-air concerts from the boat. But I never saw the Kathryn Grayson movie, nor read the book, until now; and it’s a wonderful book, especially for a former river town girl to read (and review).
The book starts in the 1890′s, with the birth of Kim Ravenel on a show boat; she was given her u...more
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Feb 22, 2011
Bettie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Brazilliant Laura
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
No one is going to claim that Ferber was the equal of a Faulkner. BUT...she writes some damned good stories, as in this tale of a traveling showboat and its denizens, including Julie, Nollie & suave gambler Gaylord Ravinal. Of course led to the Jermone Kern /Oscar Hammerstein musical masterpiece Showboat
The musical was popular when I was a kid and I probably saw the movie, but don't remember for sure. However, the book is quite different from the movie/musical. Edna Ferber was popular when I was growing up and I like reading her in the same way I like reading Dorothy Canfield Fisher.
This is a great read for those of you who like the whole "compare/ contrast" thing from novel to screenplay. I find it hard to enjoy the picture or perforamce as well as the one that Ferber paints in my head, so I usually lean towards the original format of the novel.
Unusual and very American. The characters are characters. What can I say? There is nothing predictable about this story. Somehow it captures the feeling of frontier America and the coming modern age. I'm a fan.
EDNA FERBER knows how to write a book. She takes you on a journey. An epic journey spanning so many years and really telling a terrifically captivating story. SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE MUSICAL.
I really like Edna Ferber. This was a fun trip down the Mississippi, which a world I know nothing about. And I had no idea this is where the musical came from.
This book is so much better than the old musical! The storyline is actually very different. Not my favorite Ferber, but still very American and always interesting.
Edna Ferber writes nice stories about interesting people in American settings. I enjoyed this book as an easy read with not alot of meat. If your book club has people with mother issues it might spark lively conversation.
This is definitely one of my favorite Ferber books. I especially liked the act of the story which takes place in Chicago.
Reason for Reading_ Again, I read it after Giant as I I liked Edna Ferber and wanted to read more of her books.
Actually mine's not a facsimile...
I think I am going to love everything I read by Ferber. Great writing, great stories, great characters, what is there not to love?
Five stars for the first part of the book, the show boat story. Three stars for the rest. Gaylord is such a chump. And without Parthy, the story is hardly worth reading. She's absolute gold.
A river story, an adventure story, a story of strong women, a fantastic book all around!
Am still reading - She's a master of rich vocabulary.
Seems good for a Masterpiece Theatre type treatment.
I'm 17 and unlike teen girls reading the latest novels, I got this book from the library at the withdrawn shelf. Two weeks later, the novel is amazing! If you love to travel state-to-state this 1930's novel is for you!
May 15, 2013
Gina Boyd
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Alyssa
marked it as to-read
May 14, 2013
Jason Manford
marked it as to-read
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Edna Ferber was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels were popular in her lifetime and included the Pulitzer Prize-winning So Big (1924), Show Boat (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), Cimarron (1929; made into the 1931 film which won the Academy Award for Best Picture), and Giant (1952; made into the 1956 Hollywood movie).
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