Ida [Paperback]

Gertrude Stein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 12, 1972

This is the story of Ida, whose life consists mainly of resting, because she is always tired; of talking to herself; and of getting married, time after time.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For those brave souls who undertake to read and teach that strangest of short novels in British and American literature, Gertrude Stein''s Ida, Logan Esdale''s edition is the indispensable text. It is a major contribution to the scholarship and the interpretation of Gertrude Stein''s literary art. Esdale brilliantly sets forth the history and the world of Ida, its universe of discourse. If only I''d had Esdale''s text when I was supposing what Ida said."—Neil Schmitz, State University of New York at Buffalo (Neil Schmitz ) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

This is the story of Ida, whose life consists mainly of resting, because she is always tired; of talking to herself; and of getting married, time after time.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 154 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (August 12, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039471797X
• ISBN-13: 978-0394717975
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,302,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing! Language Is Putty In Stein's Hands!, June 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Ida (Paperback)

This seemingly nonsensical book has a magical lyricism, a genius, that surfaces stronger and stronger with each reading. Her every paragraph is composed of triple entendres that are fraught with humor and meaning.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "But it was natural enough. Nature is not natural and that is natural enough.", May 10, 2009

By 

frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Ida (Paperback)

I first read Ida in college, when I had just started on what would be my life-long love affair with Gertrude Stein. While I've reread other works, I haven't revisited this one since then.

I always find it quite difficult to review Stein. I love her work, but as much for the poetry in it as for anything else. I find myself continually surprised and delighted by her wordplay and I have a hard time understanding why it seems to be pretty generally thought that she was difficult on purpose. As always, I don't find the text particularly difficult and I found myself coming away with a smile on my face from the fun and wordplay-- sensual love of the text. I'm willing to concede that maybe I'm just not genius enough to appreciate the really inaccessible bits, but then I don't really miss them.

Ida is an ordinary woman, with parts of her life extraordinary-- much like the lives of everybody. She has a twin (real or imaginary), dogs, husbands, ideas. And what happens is what happens to us all-- she lives her life.

I'd recommend it, but then I know that I really love Stein's work. If you haven't read her before then the The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas may be the best thing to get used to her diction.