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Pit, The; Story Of Chi...
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Pit, The; Story Of Chicago (BCL1-PS American Literature)/Works of Frank Norris (The Epic of the Wheat #2)
by
Frank Norris
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We be...more
Library Binding, 401 pages
Published
March 28th 1903
by Reprint Services Corp
(first published 1903)
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The Pit is the second book in Frank Norris' planned trilogy on the wheat lifecycle during the earliest years of the 20th century. The first book, The Octopus was an epic on the experiences of Western wheat farmers, and it really blew me away. By comparison, The Pit was a let-down. It is set in Chicago and follows the process of wheat through the Chicago Board of Trade. Actual wheat features little in the book (in fact, in one of its few appearances, Norris has a bit of brilliance with spilled wh...more
As an oil trader for the past 30 years, I found this novel had incredible relevance. Especially in one part where the trader got so confident he let his "hedges" expire. The volatility and swings in markets, panicked traders, limit up/limit down, squeezes, shorts ... it's no accident that grain and precious metals were the original commodities. Oil came a lot later. But in many ways, it's all the same. It's all about supply, shorts vs longs and, of course, money. Norris really gets into the psyc...more
I enjoyed this story. It had a business aspect to it, as well as a more domestic one as it traces the story of Laura as she moves to Chicago. she marries Jadwin, a successful Chicagoian, and the story follows her maturation set up against her new husband's degeneration (through is obsession with the wheat market). It gives a great look into Chicago, but an even better look into the Pit where stock is bought and sold, cornered and lost, and where people are changed.
This book was so compelling that I couldn't put it down, yet it frustrated me to death at the same time. I was so frustrated with Laura, yet I simply had to know what happened. Who was she going to pick-Corthell, Landry or Jadwin? Why was Jadwin spending so much time in the pit?
not as gripping or immediate as "the jungle" by upton sinclair but an interesting view on the other side of commerce (ie whereas the jungle was about the trials of low paid labour, this is about the millionaires whose whims dictate the market) and a decent read.
Wonderful book dripping with energy. Norris reveals the passions that drive people on a level few others have attained. Descriptions such as the main character, to paraphrase, is a bit wan but has luxurious brown hair, as if all her vitality went to her hair.
This novel is open to charges of being melodramatic, sentimental, didactic, and patriarchal, but in spite of all that it's a fascinating, engrossing, diverting read. Published in 1902, it is centered on the frenzied commodities market of Chicago, where men made giddy amounts of money or were smashed and ruined as they bought and sold wheat. But the central character is not a trader but young Laura Dearborn, a woman of means, intelligence, and spirit, who is admired by three men and enjoys flirti...more
The wheat, the WHEEEEEAAAAATTT!!!111!111! Nah, I did like this. Despite the sexism and general goofiness, I'm into this naturalist shit. Pretty great dialogue, for something written over a hundred years ago.
Really interesting. I'm financially conservative and this solidified my inclination while entertaining me. I feel like I understand a little more about the industry now.
Jul 17, 2009
Graceann
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of classics
Shelves:
classics
Please see my detailed review at Amazon Graceann's "The Pit" Review"
Frank Norris is such a compelling writer. This book was released in 1902, yet a remarkably small amount of the language is dated, and the message is as timely as ever. The crux of the story is on speculation in the wheat market in Chicago, but wheat could really be any commodity. Anyone who tried to make it big in the recent housing-boom-gone-bust will recognize a lot of attitudes here. I would love to know what Mr. Norris would...more
Frank Norris is such a compelling writer. This book was released in 1902, yet a remarkably small amount of the language is dated, and the message is as timely as ever. The crux of the story is on speculation in the wheat market in Chicago, but wheat could really be any commodity. Anyone who tried to make it big in the recent housing-boom-gone-bust will recognize a lot of attitudes here. I would love to know what Mr. Norris would...more
2ND OF WHEAT TRILOGY SRORY OF CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE AND PERHAPS ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Great story about speculating on wheat in the Pit of Chicago, where wheat is bought and sold.
Definately dated. I got tired of the main characters as the book developed. I think the relationship between the two main characters could of been much richer and more developed. They seemed as strangers throughout the entire book.
Aug 10, 2007
Heather
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Those into historical fiction
This is about people who speculated heavily in the Chicago wheat-trade market in the early 20th century. And since no book would be worth reading without ROMANCE (or else humor), there's a good deal of that, too. I liked the way this book brought me back to my Midwest roots. I liked the author's pervasive use of symbolism and metaphor. There was so much of human nature to think about while reading this book, that maybe I understand myself or this race a little better. I would have never picked u...more
Apr 21, 2011
Michael
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
favorites
Frank Norris is my favorite American author from the late 19th/early 20th century. It's a shame he died so young. This novel was particularly interesting to me because it's based in Chicago and the main character is a futures trader at the Chicago Board of Trade in the early 1900s. This was part of his "Trilogy of the Wheat", along with "The Octopus", and unfortunately he died before finishing what would have been the third novel, which was to be set in Europe. The idea was following the commodi...more
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This is a book all about how your career can take over your life if you aren't careful. It was especially interesting to me because it is all about "the pit," which is the Chicago Board of Trade (like the game of the same title). There's something very compelling, competitive, and consuming about betting on trades in the market. This book tells the story of how the Pit almost ruined a man and his wife. It made me think about my career choices and what I really want in life.
Dec 20, 2007
Rory
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
peeps who love chicago, and overtly symbolic melodrama
Shelves:
pre-1960
Was first on Chicago Magazine's list of "Books That Defined Chicago." Finally got it through the library and enjoying it immensely. I honestly need a dictionary next to me, though. It was written in 1903 and the author gives you a veritable vocabulary lesson on every page.
Aug 05, 2007
Jen
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
chicago-related
I loved this book - it combines my interest in fiction about early Chicago with my interest in fiction about gilded-age speculators and the stock market (although the time period for this one is a little later - early 1900s - and the market is commodities, grain.)
I found this one to be pretty good for the time period it was written in. It was a bit melodramatic, but I liked the story and theme.
Very interesting work, with great descriptive writing (of course). Is it weird that I could relate so much to Laura Jadwin?
Dec 16, 2007
Sarah Sammis
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
pc,
read-in-1997
Contemporary with The Jungle.
this is a great story & great writing.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stock markets and commodities in the early 1900s | 2 | 8 | Oct 07, 2011 02:54pm |
Benjamin Franklin Norris, Jr. was an American novelist, during the Progressive Era, writing predominantly in the naturalist genre. His notable works include McTeague (1899), The Octopus: A California Story (1901), and The Pit (1903). Although he did not openly support socialism as a political system, his work nevertheless evinces a socialist mentality and influenced socialist/progressive writers s...more
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