The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion
This topic is about
The Jungle
2022/23 Group Reads - Archives
>
The Jungle - Preread Chat
date
newest »
newest »
Mod
Mod
As for ebooks, there's a free version on Gutenberg, and a 99 cent version on Amazon.
It’s available on U.S. Amazon in paperback for $5 and change. I bought a 2001 edition so I wouldn’t be dealing with a scanned copy.
I read this a few years back, since it was one of my father’s favorites. It made a very strong and lasting impact on him. I found it a vivid and absorbing look into another world. (Although, I realize it’s one not so far removed as I’d like to think.) I’m really looking forward to following this discussion. :)
P. S. The Blackstone audio version is read by Grover Gardiner, who is always quite excellent.
I read this at age 14. It was required reading for freshmen at my Chicago parochial high school, mainly because its about Chicago and deals with a subject that was really the City's raison d'être. While I don't think any of us students 'liked' it as we did ones like Catch-22, it was 1967-68 and, like a Victorian sensation novel, its subject matter did arouse the interest of us budding socially-conscious Vietnam era students. Our Catholic school had some fairly liberal socially conscious teachers at the time and the subject matter of this book was a good lead in to having discussions of the then current social issues the Great Society was seeking to address.
After 55 years. I am interested in a re-read, but with Felix Holt: The Radical and The Souls of Black Folk already on my plate, I may not have room for another 100+ years older classic. I do prefer a somewhat balanced plate.
Mod
Mod
Bless you. I promised myself I'd read on my vacation and didn't. I'm behind but am enjoying The Italian so much I really want to finish it. This works well for me.
Mod
We're often reading up to three books at once (though not everyone reads all three), so you can join whichever conversations you'd like.
There is usually a group read happening that comes from a poll - currently this is The Old Wives' Tale, and the next one will be The Souls of Black Folk.
And sometimes there is a mod's choice read, which is a book chosen by one of the moderators. Currently this is the Italian, and the next one will be the Jungle.
And there is often an ongoing project that might revolve around one author (recently, the Three Musketeers series by Dumas) or topic. There is currently a poll for the next ongoing project (Gothic lit is in the lead right now).
Since the discussion threads stay open, you can read whatever you'd like at your own pace and join whichever conversation(s) you'd like. We only ask that people refrain from posting spoilers if they've read ahead (I often read ahead so I keep an ongoing document of notes so I know what comments I had for which week).
The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
Books mentioned in this topic
Felix Holt: The Radical (other topics)The Souls of Black Folk (other topics)
There are two versions of the book, and there is a bit of controversy about it. One version has 36 chapters and the other has 31.
The publishers of the 36-chapter version claim that the 31-chapter version is shorter because it was censored. But others say that Sinclair himself chose to edit the book to 31 chapters, and that is the version he chose to publish (i.e., the 36-chapter version was an earlier draft).
While both “sides” make good points, it seems most likely that Sinclair himself did intend the 31-chapter version to be his final version, and that is the version I have at home and will be reading. The 31-chapter version is also the one that is widely available and easy to find, but if you wish to read the 36-chapter version, you are of course welcome to do so!
If you want to read more about the debate on this topic, these two articles go into it. But BOTH ARTICLES CONTAIN SPOILERS, so be aware.
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/...
https://historynewsnetwork.org/articl...
We’ll probably start on March 12 so everyone can have time to finish The Italian. I’ll add the reading schedule and background information closer to that time.