The Hills Beyond (Voices of the South) [Paperback]

Thomas Wolfe (Author)

Book Description

Series: Voices of the South | Publication Date: June 2000

This wonderful and compelling collection of stories and character sketches contains some of the finest Wolfe ever wrote.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press (June 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807125679
• ISBN-13: 978-0807125670
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,078,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far and Away, December 20, 1999

By 

Daryl Robbins - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hills Beyond (Paperback)

This collection of stories is far and away the best sampling of his true literary mastery. I have always enjoyed Southern writers (Faulkner,Capote,..), but Wolfe touches a particular vein of the satirical social landscape of the South that is unmatched. His work, I believe, is less about the South than Faulkner's, but Wolfe still has that southern glow of tragedy but with a simple beauty. Though some may find his novels tedious and long-winded, it is difficult to not like this work. Just be patient and let the words come to you. The thing I like most about his short stories is that they often leave you with a feeling of lying in bed on a summer's night listening to the train pass through town or maybe a lone dog barking in the distance, hollow... but thinking that you could live forever.

11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars corralled by form, finally, January 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Hills Beyond (Paperback)

This is a collection of short-stories. For us who may be heratics in our beloved Southern Literature when it concerns Thomas Wolfe, we contend that he is a very verbose, messy messy author. His first editor had to cut and shape a large manuscript into three seperate novels (I believe that I'm correct in this), of which Look Homeward Angel was the first. (Apparently he wrote them on top of a refridgerator: a tall man.)And that book goes on and on and on--like the bunny commercial. He totally ignores any kind of sembulance of form. That is his problem, he does not brible his passion properly, Look H-- is a good book--but it could have been great--or atleast greater, depending on your view point.

Hemingway said that he was good until he began writing about other places than his home. I have to agree with that.

Now. This book, however, is his best crafted fiction. That simple. Something about the demanding, concise form of the short story works him over well. The first time that I read it I thought--that's it! The Southern author I've been looking for. But, unfortunately, I became all worked up for Look H-- and after reading that it all fizzled. One wonders two things: 1. what if he had lived longer?, he seems to have just become the craftsman that was always demanded for his ferver; and 2. what if he had written Look Homeward Angel, after he had true command of his skills.

This is a great book. In my opinion his best. Read it.