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Sironia, Texas
875 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1952
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 23, 2016
I’ve finished it – all 1,731 pages, 840,000+ words and 2 volumes of it! Took me the best part of 6 weeks, but I knew if I gave up part way through I’d never go back to it, plus I’d be really annoyed with myself if I gave up on a challenge. Yep, it was a challenge, no doubt about it. I’ve wanted to read this book since I found it on Wikipedia’s List of Longest Novels and read reviews on it and its author.
I took the advice of another reviewer and bought a copy from India via Abe Books. I made the mistake of buying the hardback version, which, whilst being good quality, was darn heavy and I have a pain in my elbow from holding each book up. For the last quarter I made sure I was sitting in a chair, not reading in bed!
It’s a fascinating and sometimes compelling story of four families, their histories and lives from 1900 through 1922 in a small Texan town – my copy didn’t have the family trees but I was able to keep track of everyone easily enough. Quite un-PC in places for the world of 2016, but I would suspect totally authentic in its portrayal of race and familial relations in a small southern town at that time. A huge cast of characters, some of whom I’m still thinking of (Miss Carietta especially; petticoat tyrant) - converting them into movie actors of the 50’s. It would have made a great (albeit condensed) epic movie. Elizabeth Taylor would have been perfect as Nelia…big sigh.
It reminded me of books such as The Magnificent Ambersons, Raintree County and a little of Gone with the Wind.
So, if you’re up for a reading challenge offering rich rewards, get a copy, commit to it and enjoy the world of Lipscombs, Hadyns, Storrows and Thaxtons!
I took the advice of another reviewer and bought a copy from India via Abe Books. I made the mistake of buying the hardback version, which, whilst being good quality, was darn heavy and I have a pain in my elbow from holding each book up. For the last quarter I made sure I was sitting in a chair, not reading in bed!
It’s a fascinating and sometimes compelling story of four families, their histories and lives from 1900 through 1922 in a small Texan town – my copy didn’t have the family trees but I was able to keep track of everyone easily enough. Quite un-PC in places for the world of 2016, but I would suspect totally authentic in its portrayal of race and familial relations in a small southern town at that time. A huge cast of characters, some of whom I’m still thinking of (Miss Carietta especially; petticoat tyrant) - converting them into movie actors of the 50’s. It would have made a great (albeit condensed) epic movie. Elizabeth Taylor would have been perfect as Nelia…big sigh.
It reminded me of books such as The Magnificent Ambersons, Raintree County and a little of Gone with the Wind.
So, if you’re up for a reading challenge offering rich rewards, get a copy, commit to it and enjoy the world of Lipscombs, Hadyns, Storrows and Thaxtons!
August 10, 2019
I don’t think my reactions have changed since volume one. You certainly get to kind of live with characters after this long. There was a little repetition here, but not much I’d cut overall. Pretty decent all in all.
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November 12, 2021Such a good book, really touched my heart. Took me about 65 years to read, but it was worth every letter <3 :D
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews