Customer Reviews

The Country of the Pointed Firs and Selected Short Fiction (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm in my 20's and live in the rural midwest. A far cry from the late 1800's settlement in Maine that the author writes about. Jewett's stories are more character sketches than plot driven prose. For some, this may be boring, but for me - there were times when the sentences she wrote were perfect ... quotes to write down and revisit after the story. Significant words for today still. The stories detail rural life - island visiting, gossip, fishing, romance, a ghost story, patriotism and more. The book is like a walk down a small town's main street - things to see and hear, but nothing if you don't look.

I got The Country of the Pointed Firs at my library before I consulted Amazon reviews, and really knew nothing about it except the publication date and that the setting is in Maine. After reading it, I came to Amazon to order a copy and was absolutely amazed to see no reviews! So here I am and believe me, this little book is a stunner. When I began reading it, I liked it, but put it aside to read something else. When I picked it back up, the more I read, the more involved I became and this time I just didn't put it down. I truthfully COULDN'T put it down - I was almost hypnotized by the rhythm of the words - literally rocking with the flow of the pages! I have never experienced this with a book in my 60 years or reading. When I finished the book, I immediately started back on page 1, and re-read the entire thing. Although it's about a time that we can only imagine, I found myself filling it with post-it stickers to mark sentences and pages that are personal and uncannily timely.

I highly recommend this edition. It contains an excellent and comprehensive forward on Orne Jewett, and a great selection of her works. I was very impressed by it.

The Country of the Pointed Firs is the most perfect piece of writing I have ever come across. This is what is meant by the adage: "write what you know about." Well, Sarah was born and raised in Maine and that is what she wrote about - the place and its quirky inhabitants. This (and all of Sarah's works) are gems, each piece a perfectly manufactured nugget of a time and place that no longer exists but continues to live through her works. I've never encountered another writer like her. What a discovery and what a shame that she is so under-recognized.

Tired of Poe, Twain, Melville and Hawthorne? Want some REAL 19th Century American fiction, NOT written by a boy, not moralistic or preachy or long-winded or creepy? Looking for grit and humor, with a flush of optimism? Read this!!

The book was in very good condition and was received quickly. I really enjoyed it. I was taking a class about Sarah Orne Jewett. I need more of her books to read,

Wonderful short story. Product was just as described. Great snapshot of a seacoast village in the late 1800's.