Fig Tree John

by Edwin Corle

STICKER DAMAGE ON FRONT COVER. SCUFFING, CREASING, EDGE WEAR/SOME DISCOLORATION ON COVERS AND SPINE. AGE RELATED TANNING INSIDE COVERS AND ON PAGES.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Edwin Corle was born in Wildwood, New Jersey and educated at the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his A.B. in 1928. For the next two years he was a graduate student at Yale University.

In 1932 he married Helen Freeman in Ensenada, Mexico.[1]

He served in World War II, and in 1944 married Jean Armstrong. His prolific writing career led to a final residence at Hope Ranch, Santa Barbara where he died on June 11, 1956.

His writing is noted for realistic portrayals of Native American life in the early 20th century. After a brief stint at writing for radio, Corle began writing numerous short stories and non-fiction pieces for magazines. In 1934 his Mojave: A Book Of Stories was published. This was followed a year later by his first and most successful novel, Fig Tree John, based on a Cahuilla Indian from southern California. In addition to other novels, Corle also wrote non-fiction, including books on the Grand Canyon and the Gila River. His sophisticated interest in the arts is reflected in his works on Igor Stravinsky and the artist Merle Armitage. In the 1950s, Corle began what was to be his most important effort, a multi-volume novel called "The Californians". The work was left uncompleted upon his death and is included in his extensive papers, letters and manuscripts donated by Ralph B. Sipper of Santa Barbara to Indiana University in 1997. Another important collection of his papers, including correspondence with Lawrence Clark Powell, is in the Special Collections of UCLA.

Reviews

[Ajay]

Edwin Corle is such a fabulous story teller. The book is pretty straight forward, and kept me engaged the entire time. Mr. Corle did a terrific job of expressing the characters feelings, outlining the landscape, and showing cultural differences. The author showed the conflict in one of the main characters, and how difficult it was to reconcile at the end. I also like how time and progress were portrayed in the timeline of the story with changes to the surrounding area and individual characters. Some elements in the novel might be seen as racy by today's standards, but the story is fun and engaging throughout. It read somewhat similar to old western tales by the likes of Zane Grey and Louis L'Amour. This is a great fiction book.

[Peggy]

Written by the husband of my husband's godmother.
Very good story about the fact that what attributes make for success in the Native American world are the same ones that make assimilation into the White Man's World most dfficult.

[erin]

Good. Hard. Sad and powerful and disturbing, and deeply moving.
So many thoughts about the vast gaps between us and our neighbors- even family members. What do we really know about each other? He is able to tell this story without justifying anyone. remarkable.

[David Rice]

This novel is a fictional account of a historical person who once lived in the area of the Salton Sea. The story diverted from real life in many places, so it cannot be called Historical Fiction as such.

[Frank]

Excellent novel of a proud native American.

[Etierney]

Thought provoking. Just started hiking in Coachella Valley and trying to learn the area so having the book take place in area is interesting. Very sad story of how cultures clash and misunderstand.