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A World I Never Made
A sprawling tale of two families' struggles with harsh urban realitiesThe first book in Farrell's five-volume series to be republished by the University of Illinois Press, A World I Never Made introduces three generations from two families, the working-class O'Neills and the lower-middle-class O'Flahertys. The lives of the O'Neills in particular reflect the tragic consequences of poverty, as young Danny O'Neill's parents--unable to sustain their large family--send him to live with his grandmother. Seen here at the age of seven, Danny is fraught with feelings of anxiety and dislocation as he learns the ins and outs of life on the street, confronting for the first time a world he never made.
- GenresFictionLiterature
Hardcover
First published June 1, 1936
About the author
James T. Farrell
271 books91 followersJames Thomas Farrell was an American novelist. One of his most famous works was the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which was made into a film in 1960 and into a television miniseries in 1979. The trilogy was voted number 29 on the Modern Library's list of the 100 best novels of the 20th century.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 12, 2009
When I was in highschool (1952-53), I became addicted to James T. Farrell novels. The first was a trilogy called Studs Lonigan and after that there was no looking back. The novels were all dark, hopeless and marinated in the fatalistic doctrine of "Determinism." There was a strong anti-Catholic theme running through all of them, and in every novel (there were five in addition to the Studs Lonigan set) was filled with warm, vibrant and flawed people who were doomed to be crushed by factors beyond their control. The setting is Chicago's Irish slums and now, half a century later, I am still haunted by the ghosts of hapless, pregnant girls, consumptive young men and brash, cocky fellows - all trudging towards their doom. Why did I love these books? I haven't the vaguest idea, but I did and I still do.
July 18, 2012
Farrell!
Brawling troubador of Irish life in old Chicago.
Farrell!!
Cowboy for Communism, shooting a six-shooter of truth. Prophet of the workingman's revolution.
Farell!!!
The literary wunderkind who stunned Depression-Era America with his STUDS LONIGAN Trilogy.
But there's more to James T. Farrell than the smoking-hot leftist rhetoric of STUDS LONIGAN, a book so inflammatory Joseph Stalin once said it should only be read in a walk-in freezer by a polar bear wearing oven mitts. No, in his quieter moments Farrell was an artist of great sensitivity who cared deeply for the troubled individuals of his own past.
A WORLD I NEVER MADE is the first novel in his epic Danny O'Neill series, a sprawling five-novel extravaganza in which Farrell remembers his family's heroic immigrant past and their eventual climb to middle class respectability. More than a political manifesto, this novel is a story of human individuals with complex personalities and conflicting needs. Above all, it is a work of poetry written in prose, the finest expression of Farrell's breathtaking lyrical style.
Let's meet the cast of A WORLD I NEVER MADE.
DANNY O'NEILL: A portrait of the artist as a young man. Danny's innocence is vividly evoked in a series of heart-wrenching vignettes unequalled in their dramatic power. ("Santa Clause! You promised me an electric train! Not a cheap wind-up. A real electric! You know what, Santa? You're just another phony. A capitalist phony! And not only that, but you're a bum. A real bum!")
MARGARET O'FLAHERTY: Danny's aunt, a stunningly beautiful young woman with innate refinement who only occasionally goes on benders, brawls with other women, and has random sex with wealthy businessmen. Not since Edith Wharton was shocking old New York with THE HOUSE OF MIRTH have we seen such a scorching indictment of woman's plight in an unfeeling world. ("I must have more gin. I must have it. Damn it, I must have it! If sleep with you, will you buy me more gin?")
AL O'FLAHERTY: Danny's uncle, a shoe salesman with a heart of gold, who believes literally everything he hears from the captains of industry who heartlessly ruin his life. ("Times are definitely improving, Dick. Yes, they are. Times are improving. Now excuse me while I drag my sixty pound sample case up three flights of stairs!")
JIM O'NEILL: Danny's father. A gentle giant, a working class hero with a heart of gold. Driving his wagon day and night, supporting his family, only occassionally drinking with the boys and beating up people he doesn't like. Probably the one adult character Farrell genuinely admires. ("I'd like things to be better for the working man. But not if it means listening to dudes talk fancy!")
LIZZ O'NEILL: Danny's mother. The dirty, slovenly mother of a dozen sick, unwashed children, a mindless victim of her own ignorant superstitions. ("I've no right to question why God is sending me another baby. Babies are God's will. We must just accept whatever God does to us!")
Two things make this book a Farrell classic: his brilliant use of monotony, and his frequent flights of repetition. Without monotony and repetition, this book would likely be only a small short story, but it stretches to epic length because Farrell repeats every point five times.
Peg must have gin for her nerves. For her nerves. She needs gin for her nerves. Al believes times will get better. Times will get better. He is confident that time will improve. Jim loves Lizz, but he can't stand her decayed teeth. Her smell. Her terrible smell and her decayed teeth. Jim can't stand her decayed teeth. Danny wants to be a ball player. A famous ball player. Gee, he wants to be a ball player. Like Ed Walsh!
Farrell was an author of both monotony and repetition. The sheer richness of the repetitive and monotonous descriptions will make this novel an experience you will never forget.
No matter how hard you try.
Brawling troubador of Irish life in old Chicago.
Farrell!!
Cowboy for Communism, shooting a six-shooter of truth. Prophet of the workingman's revolution.
Farell!!!
The literary wunderkind who stunned Depression-Era America with his STUDS LONIGAN Trilogy.
But there's more to James T. Farrell than the smoking-hot leftist rhetoric of STUDS LONIGAN, a book so inflammatory Joseph Stalin once said it should only be read in a walk-in freezer by a polar bear wearing oven mitts. No, in his quieter moments Farrell was an artist of great sensitivity who cared deeply for the troubled individuals of his own past.
A WORLD I NEVER MADE is the first novel in his epic Danny O'Neill series, a sprawling five-novel extravaganza in which Farrell remembers his family's heroic immigrant past and their eventual climb to middle class respectability. More than a political manifesto, this novel is a story of human individuals with complex personalities and conflicting needs. Above all, it is a work of poetry written in prose, the finest expression of Farrell's breathtaking lyrical style.
Let's meet the cast of A WORLD I NEVER MADE.
DANNY O'NEILL: A portrait of the artist as a young man. Danny's innocence is vividly evoked in a series of heart-wrenching vignettes unequalled in their dramatic power. ("Santa Clause! You promised me an electric train! Not a cheap wind-up. A real electric! You know what, Santa? You're just another phony. A capitalist phony! And not only that, but you're a bum. A real bum!")
MARGARET O'FLAHERTY: Danny's aunt, a stunningly beautiful young woman with innate refinement who only occasionally goes on benders, brawls with other women, and has random sex with wealthy businessmen. Not since Edith Wharton was shocking old New York with THE HOUSE OF MIRTH have we seen such a scorching indictment of woman's plight in an unfeeling world. ("I must have more gin. I must have it. Damn it, I must have it! If sleep with you, will you buy me more gin?")
AL O'FLAHERTY: Danny's uncle, a shoe salesman with a heart of gold, who believes literally everything he hears from the captains of industry who heartlessly ruin his life. ("Times are definitely improving, Dick. Yes, they are. Times are improving. Now excuse me while I drag my sixty pound sample case up three flights of stairs!")
JIM O'NEILL: Danny's father. A gentle giant, a working class hero with a heart of gold. Driving his wagon day and night, supporting his family, only occassionally drinking with the boys and beating up people he doesn't like. Probably the one adult character Farrell genuinely admires. ("I'd like things to be better for the working man. But not if it means listening to dudes talk fancy!")
LIZZ O'NEILL: Danny's mother. The dirty, slovenly mother of a dozen sick, unwashed children, a mindless victim of her own ignorant superstitions. ("I've no right to question why God is sending me another baby. Babies are God's will. We must just accept whatever God does to us!")
Two things make this book a Farrell classic: his brilliant use of monotony, and his frequent flights of repetition. Without monotony and repetition, this book would likely be only a small short story, but it stretches to epic length because Farrell repeats every point five times.
Peg must have gin for her nerves. For her nerves. She needs gin for her nerves. Al believes times will get better. Times will get better. He is confident that time will improve. Jim loves Lizz, but he can't stand her decayed teeth. Her smell. Her terrible smell and her decayed teeth. Jim can't stand her decayed teeth. Danny wants to be a ball player. A famous ball player. Gee, he wants to be a ball player. Like Ed Walsh!
Farrell was an author of both monotony and repetition. The sheer richness of the repetitive and monotonous descriptions will make this novel an experience you will never forget.
No matter how hard you try.
December 11, 2018
The first novel in Farrell's quintilogy on the O'Neil - O'Flaherty families in Chicago. Specifically, it follows Danny O'Neil who rises up from the Irish slums to become a successful lawyer.
Some have criticized Farrell’s writing style, claiming that it's repetitive, and too dependent on dialogue, while being short in action. It's true most of the scenes are dialogues between characters and in their speech we discover what has happened in-between the previous speech. However, that doesn’t diminish the skill of the writing. It enhances it if anything. He keeps the drama in-house and demonstrates the world through the family's eyes.
As for repetitious, his style becomes lyrical and lilting as it continues on. The back-and-forth between characters becomes a lullaby that drifts the characters through life. The gift of gab was part of the lifeblood of the old Irish tradition and it flows deep here.
Set in 1911, the story captures the feel and smell of the Irish families as they claw to survive and prosper. It's fascinating to read of their problems. Often they are the same problems we face today. Money, sex, properly raising children, etc. Even the political debates between Democrats and Republicans, while removing the specific names (Taft was in the White House at this time), could happen today. The Republicans are said to be in the pockets of big business and the Democrats are said to be idealistic talkers, incapable of getting things done, relying on symbolic gestures.
The two families represent the split of the Irish in the race’s journey through America. The O'Flaherty are the Lace Curtain Irish who use the resources of this new land to educate the next generation so they can be better off and rise above the poverty impressed on them by the English in their native land. While the O'Neils are Shanty Irish, poorly educated, too many children, slovenly in their ways, poor hygiene. They are incapable, or unwilling, to better themselves and will eventually become known as “white trash”.
Some have criticized Farrell’s writing style, claiming that it's repetitive, and too dependent on dialogue, while being short in action. It's true most of the scenes are dialogues between characters and in their speech we discover what has happened in-between the previous speech. However, that doesn’t diminish the skill of the writing. It enhances it if anything. He keeps the drama in-house and demonstrates the world through the family's eyes.
As for repetitious, his style becomes lyrical and lilting as it continues on. The back-and-forth between characters becomes a lullaby that drifts the characters through life. The gift of gab was part of the lifeblood of the old Irish tradition and it flows deep here.
Set in 1911, the story captures the feel and smell of the Irish families as they claw to survive and prosper. It's fascinating to read of their problems. Often they are the same problems we face today. Money, sex, properly raising children, etc. Even the political debates between Democrats and Republicans, while removing the specific names (Taft was in the White House at this time), could happen today. The Republicans are said to be in the pockets of big business and the Democrats are said to be idealistic talkers, incapable of getting things done, relying on symbolic gestures.
The two families represent the split of the Irish in the race’s journey through America. The O'Flaherty are the Lace Curtain Irish who use the resources of this new land to educate the next generation so they can be better off and rise above the poverty impressed on them by the English in their native land. While the O'Neils are Shanty Irish, poorly educated, too many children, slovenly in their ways, poor hygiene. They are incapable, or unwilling, to better themselves and will eventually become known as “white trash”.
August 22, 2009
Chicago in the 1910's...I think I lived there in a prior life.
June 29, 2026
In the spring semester of 1980, while working on my undergraduate degree, I took a course on The American Novel since WWI. It was one of my favorite classes from my BA. I read so many novels that I just loved. I wound up reading more of the work by almost every author in the following years.
One of the novels that I read was the Studs Lonigan trilogy by James T. Farrell. Reading an entire trilogy was not that big of a deal because they came together as one book entitled Studs Lonigan. Each title in the trilogy was rather short, so even combined it wasn’t really that big of a book, although it was the longest one of the semester.
As with the other writers, I began reading more about the author, in order to choose which book to read next. At a used book store I stumbled up a “collected” short story volume that consisted of Farrell’s first three volumes of stories. They were enjoyable, but nothing stuck out. What I was most interested in was his series of five novels referred to as the Danny O’Neill pentalogy. I checked it out and, as noted, it was widely praised, each volume was quite long, and worse, pretty much no longer in print. As I visited book stores over the years, I would have to piece it together from random purchases, and I did not want to start it without having the other volumes. I didn’t want to start it unless I could finish it. Last year, while web-surfing, I found out that the entire series had been republished in paperback (BIG paperbacks) by the University of Chicago about ten years ago. I immediately bought them all.
A World I Never Made is the first in the series. It is set in the year 1911 in Chicago when Danny enters the first grade, but it is more that. All the volumes focus on his extended family, and this is pretty “slice of life” story telling. It is a work of naturalism, but not the doom and gloom variety. Rather, it focuses on the lives of Danny’s extended family, many of whom are poverty stricken working men and women just trying to survive. Danny’s actual branch of the family is doing slightly better than others, but are still just one incident away from catastrophe at any moment. Farrell does not necessarily provide the catastrophe, but you can see the chances that are sometimes taken and the occasional consequences of bad decisions. The story pretty vividly portrays ups and downs without setting up unrealistic outcomes. It is life as it is lived, and sometimes things are worse and then better, but then worse again. I really became bought-in on most of the family’s individual storylines. All the main characters, around ten people, are well fleshed out and are believable. I really became engrossed. Looking forward to the next volume.
One of the novels that I read was the Studs Lonigan trilogy by James T. Farrell. Reading an entire trilogy was not that big of a deal because they came together as one book entitled Studs Lonigan. Each title in the trilogy was rather short, so even combined it wasn’t really that big of a book, although it was the longest one of the semester.
As with the other writers, I began reading more about the author, in order to choose which book to read next. At a used book store I stumbled up a “collected” short story volume that consisted of Farrell’s first three volumes of stories. They were enjoyable, but nothing stuck out. What I was most interested in was his series of five novels referred to as the Danny O’Neill pentalogy. I checked it out and, as noted, it was widely praised, each volume was quite long, and worse, pretty much no longer in print. As I visited book stores over the years, I would have to piece it together from random purchases, and I did not want to start it without having the other volumes. I didn’t want to start it unless I could finish it. Last year, while web-surfing, I found out that the entire series had been republished in paperback (BIG paperbacks) by the University of Chicago about ten years ago. I immediately bought them all.
A World I Never Made is the first in the series. It is set in the year 1911 in Chicago when Danny enters the first grade, but it is more that. All the volumes focus on his extended family, and this is pretty “slice of life” story telling. It is a work of naturalism, but not the doom and gloom variety. Rather, it focuses on the lives of Danny’s extended family, many of whom are poverty stricken working men and women just trying to survive. Danny’s actual branch of the family is doing slightly better than others, but are still just one incident away from catastrophe at any moment. Farrell does not necessarily provide the catastrophe, but you can see the chances that are sometimes taken and the occasional consequences of bad decisions. The story pretty vividly portrays ups and downs without setting up unrealistic outcomes. It is life as it is lived, and sometimes things are worse and then better, but then worse again. I really became bought-in on most of the family’s individual storylines. All the main characters, around ten people, are well fleshed out and are believable. I really became engrossed. Looking forward to the next volume.
December 16, 2019
Finished reading 12/15/19. I can't say much at this point as the book is clearly meant to be taken on its own even less than any of the Studs books.
Much of the focus is on the older generation. Danny's come to live with his grandmother, Mrs. O'Flaherty, along with her son and daughter, Uncle Al and Aunt Margaret (Peg).
There are several plot threads woven in the book, none of them are resolved by the end.
On a second reading five(ish) years later, it's impressive how many of the anecdotes stuck in my head. The first big fight between Aunt Peg and Mrs. O'Flaherty, Bill showing off a cigarette to some peers before getting his and Danny's face mushed into snow. Aunt Peg taking Danny and little Margaret to the department store to see Santa. Lots of funny things happening there.
The hypocrisy of the adults reminds be a bit of Babbitt, but Sinclair Lewis was a clear influence on Farrell.
The novel ends with Christmas, and everyone remembering Old Tom and Aunt Louise. Danny gets his first clue that the world isn't quite as the adults in his life are telling him, when Santa's solemn promise is not kept and he gets scolded for pointing it out.
Much of the focus is on the older generation. Danny's come to live with his grandmother, Mrs. O'Flaherty, along with her son and daughter, Uncle Al and Aunt Margaret (Peg).
There are several plot threads woven in the book, none of them are resolved by the end.
On a second reading five(ish) years later, it's impressive how many of the anecdotes stuck in my head. The first big fight between Aunt Peg and Mrs. O'Flaherty, Bill showing off a cigarette to some peers before getting his and Danny's face mushed into snow. Aunt Peg taking Danny and little Margaret to the department store to see Santa. Lots of funny things happening there.
The hypocrisy of the adults reminds be a bit of Babbitt, but Sinclair Lewis was a clear influence on Farrell.
The novel ends with Christmas, and everyone remembering Old Tom and Aunt Louise. Danny gets his first clue that the world isn't quite as the adults in his life are telling him, when Santa's solemn promise is not kept and he gets scolded for pointing it out.
Want to Read
March 13, 2011Stephen King recommended this author's earlier works.
April 22, 2013
Farrell allows the men some dignity but paints all the women as totally trashy.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews