Fields: Second Book In Awakening Land Trilogy [Paperback]

Conrad Richter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1991

Conrad Richter's trilogy of novels The Trees (1940), The Fields (1946), and The Town (1950) trace the transformation of Ohio from wilderness to farmland to the site of modern industrial civilization, all in the lifetime of one character. The Fields continues the saga of the Luckett family that began in The Trees. In The Fields, the oldest daughter, Sayward, has begun the long process of carving a small farm out of the forest. She bears eight children and weathers numerous challenges in this novel, which gives an excellent sense of what pioneer life was really like. The trilogy earned Richter immediate acclaim as a historical novelist. The Town won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1951, and The Trees was a Book-of-the-Month Club selection after it was published. Richter also received the 1947 Ohioan Library Medal for the first two volumes of the trilogy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(A) tale of the slow battle and eventual victory over the Trees and that relentless forest which even today marches in and takes over an Ohio field that has been left untilled for a year or two...The story is told with a filling of poetry and the picturesque turn of language which characterized the speech of the frontier and can still be heard in the Ohio country districts."—Louis Bromfield

About the Author

Conrad Richter was born in Pennsylvania. His family on his mother’s side was identified with the early American scene, and from boyhood on he was saturated with tales and the color of Eastern pioneer days. In 1928 he and his family moved to New Mexico, where his heart and mind were soon captured by the Southwest. The Sea of Grass and The Trees were awarded the gold medal of the Societies of Libraries of New York University in 1942.

Product Details

• Paperback: 169 pages
• Publisher: Ohio University Press; New edition edition (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821409794
• ISBN-13: 978-0821409794
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical fiction at its most authentic., May 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fields: Second Book In Awakening Land Trilogy (Paperback)

Conrad Richter's "The Fields" is the middle book of his "Awakening Land" trilogy, and is no less powerful than the first, "The Trees," with its authentic use of pioneer speech and dialects, and its realistic depiction of the triumphs and tragedies of real Americans. Set in the original "West" of Ohio, "The Fields" continues the story of Sayward Luckett Wheeler as she and her growing family settle their land and deal with the everyday task of surviving. What was a handful of isolated trapper's cabins in the first book has now become a collection of settlements that is clearly on its way to becoming a bustling town. Sayward, as stoical as always, strongly confronts every realistic challenge and victory frontier life hands her. She's a refreshingly strong feminine character who is truly the reason why the West was settled. Her strength and determination holds her large family together as the frontier is pushed further westward. Mr. Richter was a truly gifted writer who manges to make the daily life of these long-dead heroes exciting and worthwhile.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intensity Again, May 31, 2007

By 

Larry Rochelle (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fields: Second Book In Awakening Land Trilogy (Paperback)

Richter loses no time establishing THE FIELDS as a direct and strong descendant of THE TREES. With no time wasting, he recreates the forest and Sayward's battle against the "big butts," those mammoth trees blocking out the sun.

Her relationship with her man, Portius Wheeler the lawyer, seems at first to strengthen: seven kids in all, and a childhood tragedy once again accepted. We readers wonder how she can stay so strong, so calm. But she does. And so does her brood.

But Portius weakens and succombs. Sayward takes the blame, but again shows the inner strength to go on. The ending of book two carries on the development of their little community, and also shows the intensity of her love for her family.

Don't miss it.

by Larry Rochelle, author of DUST DEVILS, GHOSTLY EMBERS and ARROW.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Overzealous publisher, January 14, 2011

By 

Zolasattic (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fields: Second Book In Awakening Land Trilogy (Paperback)

Being intimately familiar with the original publication of this trilogy, I can say with utmost disdain that whoever was responsible for taking the liberties of rewriting what was very nearly perfection must have a great fondness for soap operas and should stick with romance novels instead. Not only are there additional passages inserted that were never written by Conrad Richter, there are also altered meanings of existing passages that totally change the flavor and the original intent. There are so many instances in all three volumes that I don't even know where to begin with examples. This is by far the most appalling reprint of an award-winning piece of historical fiction I have ever witnessed. You would do better to find a used copy from the original publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.