Rebecca's review
Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe
** spoiler alert **
It took me FOREVER to get through this book. A combination of his prose style, insanely long descriptive passages and lack of a real action-oriented plot made this one of my most laborious literary excursions. In my opinion, this book just takes on too much -- too many people, too many years, too much detail. I found some chapters sweet and engaging, and others just agony. How many different faces of the local townsfolk do I really need to envision? How many drunken tirades by papa Gant do I need to read in order to get the point about what affect this passionate patriarch had on his family? I think this book could have benefited from some effective editing, a lengthly cutting of content. Some sections would work great as novellas or short stories, since in many cases, Wolfe offers up some lovely writing, especially the chapters dealing with Ben's death, which were my favorite passages. Sadly, it took nearly the whole length of the novel to find a part of the story that could re...more
