Matt Ostrander answers “I would not recommend a book whose...”

Inés Arteta asked this question about The Human Comedy:

I would not recommend a book whose narrator I could not trust. Who is this omniscient narrator? Why is the 14 year old Homer so philosophical, thinks and reacts as a 50 year old. If it is due to the early loss of his father, his need to work and the absence of his older bother, (not spoiling), then that was not enough for me. Did´t the narrator make you uncomfortable through out the text?

Matt Ostrander Your observations are valid, and if I approached this work as a realistic novel, I would feel the same way. The world that Saroyan depicts is not real…moreYour observations are valid, and if I approached this work as a realistic novel, I would feel the same way. The world that Saroyan depicts is not realistic now, and probably wasn't in the 1940's either. There are certainly many spots in this book in which the children seem wiser than the adults. I think that Saroyan would like us to come away with the feeling that we have (or should have) a basic goodness and compassion in us. The priorities and complexities of life make us forget that. If we do not constantly refresh our virtues, they become corrupted or lost, so that it's often the youngest of us who are the least corrupted. In this way, the novel is far more Romantic than Realist.
My favorite authors (Steinbeck, Frost, Naomi Shihab Nye) all return to this need for compassion again and again. Their message is that it's a hard world, and we need to help each other. A lack of realism doesn't hurt that message.(less)

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The Human Comedy

by William Saroyan

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