Yonnondio: From the Thirties (Paperback)

~ (Author), Linda Ray Pratt (Introduction)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Olsen] evokes the very feel of poverty, not in the sharp-focused naturalistic detail of the muckrakers, but in broad powerful strokes of which the paint is emotion, sensation, apprehension."-New York Times Book Review (New York Times Book Review )

"Ms. Olsen''s unfolding of what [poverty] does to each [character] is both powerful and poignant in its impact, and not coincidentally, revealing in terms of what the Depression meant to a whole generation."-Publisher''s Weekly (Publisher's Weekly )

Product Description

Yonnondio follows the heartbreaking path of the Holbrook family in the late 1920s and the Great Depression as they move from the coal mines of Wyoming to a tenant farm in western Nebraska, ending up finally on the kill floors of the slaughterhouses and in the wretched neighborhoods of the poor in Omaha, Nebraska.

Mazie, the oldest daughter in the growing family of Jim and Anna Holbrook, tells the story of the family's desire for a better life – Anna's dream that her children be educated and Jim's wish for a life lived out in the open, away from the darkness and danger of the mines. At every turn in their journey, however, their dreams are frustrated, and the family is jeopardized by cruel and indifferent systems.

See all Editorial Reviews

---

Product Details Paperback: 196 pages Publisher: Bison Books (October 1, 2004) Language: English ISBN-10: 080328621X ISBN-13: 978-0803286214 Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.6 inches Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,531 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

---

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Tillie Olsen Page

---

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	89% buy the item featured on this page: Yonnondio: From the Thirties 4.5 out of 5 stars (2) $10.17
	3% buy Silences 4.4 out of 5 stars (9) $12.71
	3% buy ' Tell Me a Riddle': Tillie Olsen (Women Writers : Texts and Contexts) 4.8 out of 5 stars (5) $19.75
	3% buy Blood on the Forge (New York Review Books Classics) 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) $11.20

Explore similar items

---

Tags Customers Associate with This Product  (What's this?) Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people. Check the boxes next to the tags you consider relevant or enter your own tags in the field below.  the depression(1) Your tags: Add your first tag

Search Products Tagged with   See most popular tags

---

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

---

 

Customer Reviews

2 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 16 of 16 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars An unfinished and lovely work, October 3, 2004 By  frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    Amazon Verified Purchase The majority of Yonnondio was written when Olsen was 19 years old. Her husband discovered its remains among Olsen's papers in 1972 and she herself pieced the current book together and published the still unfinished results in 1974. This newest version of the book includes new material discovered by Olsen that was not included in the 1974 version. Yonnondio (the title taken from a Walt Whitman poem) is a moving lament for the impoverishment and despair of young families and young women during the depression. Despite the uneveness and jumpiness of the narrative (an artifact of its unfinished status), the small and detailed moments leap out through the pages to capture the reader. It is occasionally a very sad book, and always very beautiful. It's unusual to be so impressed by an unfinished novel published when the author was still living. Unfortunately, Olsen has published so few works that even something rough and unfinished is a welcome treat. While I understand her insistence that she would not write any new material for the book, it is hard not to read it and wish it were possible to read the finished book. If the fragments are so magnificent, what would the final work have been? 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A novella of poverty, January 17, 2008 By  Flight Risk (The Gypsy Moth) "Exiled Yankee" (usa) - See all my reviews    A young girl survives a very hardscrabble existance, dragged from coal mine to sunflower farm to the bloody slaughterhouses of Omaha as her father struggles to find work that will support himself and his growing family. The little girl tries to find joy in a life that is almost totally devoid of it; to escape despair, her father drinks; her mother, constantly pregnant, is worn out trying to keep them all fed and housed; and the one place where they are all happy, the sunflower farm in North Dakota, ruins them with capricious weather. Their final move, to Omaha, is where the book ends. I gave the book 5 stars on the strength of the writing and story; a book that was begun decades earlier, the author resurrected what was already written and published it without adding much. It's a pity there is no followup; it is a story begging for resolution. You wonder how the family did; if the children grew to escape the fates of their parents (one child is lost to sickness), or if they were lost in the cracks of humanity that swarmed amongst the poor of the 30s. I heard stories like this while growing up, from survivors of the Depression; we will probably not return to such abject misery as is portrayed here, but this thin little book is a cautionary tale, and very moving.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

---

Customer Discussions

This product's forum Discussion Replies Latest Post No discussions yet Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight Start a new discussion Topic: First post: Receive e-mail when new posts are made Prompts for sign-in   Guidelines Active discussions in related forums Discussion Replies Latest Post textbook Running a blog for three years on textbooks! ; ) 35 2 hours ago textbook textbook scam 93 1 day ago textbook dos mundos 6th edition 2 3 days ago classic literature Where do I start with Proust??? 9 8 days ago classic literature Which is the first (or your favorite) first novel? 4 9 days ago classic literature What classic French Literature should I read? 23 9 days ago textbook physics 7th edition cutnell and johnson 4 14 days ago Search Customer Discussions Search all Amazon discussions

The Classic Literature community Latest activity 1 hour ago 3,977 customers have contributed 2,461 products, 670 lists & guides and more... › Explore the community Related forums classic... (10 discussions) textbook (19 discussions) textbooks... (1 discussion) Explore more › See all Customer Communities › Your communities

---

Listmania!

Great Surprise! - NY Review of Books Literature Classics: A list by Douglas S. Wood "Vicarious Life"   Leonard Michaels, Tillie Olsen, Jean Stafford, and Other Superstars: A list by Kyle Minor "reader"   Suggested Reading for Feminist Book Groups Part I: A list by Keely Hyslop "eccentric poet, lover of okapi" Create a Listmania! list

Search Listmania!

---

So You'd Like to...

Create a guide

Search Guides

---

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Be the first person to add an article about this item at Amapedia.com.

› See featured Amapedia.com articles

---

Look for Similar Items by Category

• Books > Literature & Fiction

---

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:
Fiction
Fiction - General
Fiction / General
General
Depressions
Poor families
Rural families
Tenant farmers


i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Ad feedback

 

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? Is there any other feedback you would like to provide? Your comments can help make our site better for everyone. Please note that we are unable to respond directly to all feedback submitted via this form, but we'll ask you to sign in so we can contact you if needed. Feedback is limited to 1000 characters.

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

› View and edit your browsing history

Get to Know Us Careers Investor Relations Press Releases Amazon and Our Planet Make Money with Us Sell on Amazon Join Associates Self-publish with Us › See all Let Us Help You Shipping Rates & Policies Amazon Prime Returns Help

Canada | China | France | Germany | Japan | United Kingdom  And don't forget: Amazon Windowshop | AmazonWireless | Askville | Audible | DPReview | Endless | IMDb | Shopbop | SoundUnwound | Warehouse Deals by Amazon | Zappos Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice  © 1996-2010, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080328621X
• ISBN-13: 978-0803286214
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,531 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An unfinished and lovely work, October 3, 2004

By	frumiousb "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

The majority of Yonnondio was written when Olsen was 19 years old. Her husband discovered its remains among Olsen's papers in 1972 and she herself pieced the current book together and published the still unfinished results in 1974. This newest version of the book includes new material discovered by Olsen that was not included in the 1974 version.

Yonnondio (the title taken from a Walt Whitman poem) is a moving lament for the impoverishment and despair of young families and young women during the depression. Despite the uneveness and jumpiness of the narrative (an artifact of its unfinished status), the small and detailed moments leap out through the pages to capture the reader. It is occasionally a very sad book, and always very beautiful.

It's unusual to be so impressed by an unfinished novel published when the author was still living. Unfortunately, Olsen has published so few works that even something rough and unfinished is a welcome treat. While I understand her insistence that she would not write any new material for the book, it is hard not to read it and wish it were possible to read the finished book. If the fragments are so magnificent, what would the final work have been?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A novella of poverty, January 17, 2008

By	Flight Risk (The Gypsy Moth) "Exiled Yankee" (usa) - See all my reviews

A young girl survives a very hardscrabble existance, dragged from coal mine to sunflower farm to the bloody slaughterhouses of Omaha as her father struggles to find work that will support himself and his growing family. The little girl tries to find joy in a life that is almost totally devoid of it; to escape despair, her father drinks; her mother, constantly pregnant, is worn out trying to keep them all fed and housed; and the one place where they are all happy, the sunflower farm in North Dakota, ruins them with capricious weather. Their final move, to Omaha, is where the book ends.

I gave the book 5 stars on the strength of the writing and story; a book that was begun decades earlier, the author resurrected what was already written and published it without adding much. It's a pity there is no followup; it is a story begging for resolution. You wonder how the family did; if the children grew to escape the fates of their parents (one child is lost to sickness), or if they were lost in the cracks of humanity that swarmed amongst the poor of the 30s. I heard stories like this while growing up, from survivors of the Depression; we will probably not return to such abject misery as is portrayed here, but this thin little book is a cautionary tale, and very moving.