Customer Reviews

Norris: Novels and Essays (Library of America)

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

 

 

The Library of America (LOA)is a not for profit publisher dedicated to keeping great American writing in print. In this volume (number 33 in the series that currently has 140 volumes) LOA publishes three novels and twenty-two essays by Frank Norris. While this is not all of his writing, this is the only currently available source for some of these works within the budget of most readers. I purchased this volume simply because of the LOA. I had never heard of Frank Norris. My only expectation was great writing. I was not disappointed.

The first novel, Vandover and the Brute, was written while Norris was a student at Harvard. It was published after his death and appears to have been altered by his brother who found parts of the novel and its then strong language objectionable. Even with this, I found it to be an interesting story of a indolent young man's moral slide. It is a story of the perfidy of a good friend, rationalizing bad moral decisions, and playing poorly the hand that the main character, Vandover, has been dealt. Good intentions never last long. Vandover takes advantage of a girl in his set. Her subsequent suicide sets in motion his slide. All along he takes the path of least resistence; he makes slopy, lazy, irresponsible choices that contribute to the inevitable outcome.

McTeague, the second novel, was also begun while Norris was at Harvard and published in 1899. While not as lurid a subject as Vandover, parts of the book were quite controversial at the time. The book notes indicate that a passage describing incontinence was rewritten for its second printing due to pressure from the publisher. This LOA printing of this novel contains the original passage. I think that McTeague is the most enjoyable or the three novels. The writing is so clear and realistic. I think that it influenced some of the great realistic writers to follow.

The last novel in this volume was titled The Octopus, and was an ambitious undertaking. It was to be the first part of a never completed trilogy, THE EPIC OF THE WHEAT. It has a hugh cast of characters and reminds me of both the novel and movie "GIANT". (Of course, the Octopus is better written.) Missing is the second part of the trilogy called the Pit. (Norris died suddenly in his early thirties before he wrote the third book.) For some reason LOA chose to include some of Norris'essays instead of the Pit. Regardless...

This is a wonderful volume of extraordinarily well written works. Discovering the writing of Frank Norris was one of readings great pleasures. I highly recommend this book. I also encourage you to check out some of the other volumes published by the Library of America.

Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, will prepare you for Frank Norris. This guy is a literary deity, a veritable Atlas of the written word. Why he is not widely known, let alone widely read, is an incalculable tragedy. I only stumbled over him by pure chance; I caught a glance of this Library of America book in the stacks at the library and stopped to look. It just goes to show that the gems are out there, and are often found when you least expect it. Actually, I have a good idea why Norris is not widely known: He died at the early age of 32 in 1902, which left us with only a handful of his works. Also, some of his views are not politically correct.

This volume contains three of Norris's novels: "Vandover and the Brute," "McTeague," and "The Octopus." The last 100 pages are short essays Norris wrote for various periodicals of the day. As usual, the LOA includes helpful notes, a timeline of the author's life, and textual emendations. Sure, the book is huge, but considering it is divided into novels, you can do what I did and take breaks between the novels.

The first story, "Vandover and the Brute," written while Norris was at Harvard, is an unremittingly grim tale about a social phony named, aptly, Vandover. Vandover is a cad, one of the most unlikable characters ever to grace the world of fine literature. Norris takes us in right at the beginning of Vandover's life, when his mother dies after a trip to San Francisco with the family. Vandover's father encourages his son's only talent, painting, by promising to take him to Paris. In the meantime, Vandover enrolls at Harvard, where he coasts through classes with the help of his friend Geary. It is also at Harvard where Vandover acquires an unfortunate craving for prostitutes. Once out of school, Vandover returns to live with his father, and begins to play the role of social climber and hanger-on. He gets to know a nice girl, but his love of ladies of the night leads him to talk a young lass into accompanying him to a house of ill repute, where they engage in some licentious behavior. The girl subsequently kills herself, causing a nasty scandal that requires Vandover to leave town. A shipwreck, an unfortunate death, and the acquisition of a sexual disease lead Vandover into a freefall to chaos and ultimate doom. This story is G-R-I-M, folks. Almost every character in the story is absolutely despicable, with no redeeming qualities to speak of. Be sure and pay attention to the prose. Norris leaves nothing to the imagination. Descriptions of rooms and characters run on for pages at a time. The intricacy is astonishing without becoming tiresome. They should tape a packet of Prozac on the book jacket for this one.

The second story, "McTeague," continues Norris's naturalist literary work. McTeague is a hulking giant of a man, big of body and short of mind. He works as a dentist in San Francisco and lives the bachelor life. His only friend introduces McTeague to Trina, a pretty girl of German descent. McTeague falls for the lass and the story starts to zoom. McTeague wins Trina over and they start out on their life together. Trina has a slight problem, a problem that becomes all consuming as the novel progresses; she's a miser. By the time McTeague loses his practice and the two are forced to live in a hovel, Trina refuses to yield even a dime to help the financial situation. Trina makes Scrooge look like a chronic gambler. I cannot convey to you how much I hated her by the end of the story. She should be horsewhipped. When I reached the last page of this story, I roared out loud over the ending. What a classic! If you read only one novel by Frank Norris, read this one.

The troika is complete with "The Octopus." This sprawling novel was the first in Norris's "Trilogy of the Wheat." The story is set in the San Joaquin valley at the turn of the century. "The Octopus" focuses on the conflict between wheat growers and the railroad that owns their land. It's anti-capitalist to the extreme, and I bet Upton Sinclair got the idea for "The Jungle" from this novel. But the novel is more than a socialist tract. Norris turns this conflict into a biblical tale of good and evil. The prose takes your breath away. The descriptions of Vanamee calling out to his dead bride are nothing short of pure brilliance. Also note the pulse quickening accounts of Dyke's flight from the law.

Run, don't walk, to get this book. I would like to see hundreds of reviews for Mr. Norris's works here on Amazon. I'm thinking of buying this LOA edition so I can revisit these tales often. I just wish they had included "The Pit," Norris's sequel to "The Octopus." Oh, be sure to read the essays. They provide helpful insights into Norris's views on writing and some of his stories.

I found it hard to put this book down. I purchased it in order to read "The Octopus" - the only Frank Norris work I was aware of at the time. I found it extremely difficult to put down. The writing was brilliant.

"The Octopus" depicts the dealings of the Southern Pacific railroad and the consequences of those dealings: lives ruins, families destroyed. There are subplots within the plot. While the inhabitants of Nob Hill are planning to send a ship for fanmine releif a woman starves to death outside the mansions. This was very poignant. There are many such moments in "The Octopus". At the end a kind of poetic justice was served to the agent of the railroad. Just when you think how dispicable the railroad is the conversation with the head of the railroad puts things in a different light.

The theme of "McTeague" is greed and what greed can drive people too: betrayal, murder, foresaking of family. There is also the subplot of the courtship of the old couple which was very tender.

"Vandover and The Brute" is the portrayal of the downfall of one man. We read the descent from a life of privelege to the life on the bottom rungs of soceity.

All of the books are powerful and riveting. They made me want to read everything that Frank Norris wrote.

This collection consists of three novels -- "Vandover and the Brute," "McTeague," and "The Octopus" -- and a series of essays.The novels are all grim, compelling stories. Another reviewer's remarking on the similarity between "The Octopus" and Zola's "Germinal" is apt. Unlike that reviewer, I found "The Octopus" most compelling. This is a grand tale with numerous subplots. The central theme is the struggle between the railroad (the octopus) and wheat farmers. I found it difficult to put down. And I found myself tearing up at points, somewhat disconcerting as I read most of this on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit). All three novels are set in California with a least some if not most of the action taking place in San Francisco. These stories are excellent reads if you're not too squeamish.