The spectacular, history-making first novel about a young man’s coming of age by literary legend Thomas Wolfe, first published in 1929 and long considered a classic of twentieth century literature. A legendary author on par with William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor, Thomas Wolfe published Look Homeward, Angel, his first novel, about a young man’s burning desire to leave his small town and … leave his small town and tumultuous family in search of a better life, in 1929. It gave the world proof of his genius and launched a powerful legacy.
The novel follows the trajectory of Eugene Gant, a brilliant and restless young man whose wanderlust and passion shape his adolescent years in rural North Carolina. Wolfe said that Look Homeward, Angel is “a book made out of my life,” and his largely autobiographical story about the quest for a greater intellectual life has resonated with and influenced generations of readers, including some of today’s most important novelists. Rich with lyrical prose and vivid characterizations, this twentieth-century American classic will capture the hearts and imaginations of every reader.
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Often considered as America’s greatest writer of prose. This is an American classic narrative of a boy who becomes a great novelist by recounting his youth in the first half of the 20th century.
If Thomas Wolfe were alive today he would be 120 and would have lived to hear his famous statement “You Can’t Go Home Again” contradicted, argued with and called untrue at least 17,000 times. But his reputation was largely made by his first novel with the wonderful title, Look Homeward, Angel. It’s written in a strangely high style and the …
“…a stone, a leaf, an unfound door…”
So begins the prologue of Thomas Wolfe’s Look Homeward, Angel, five free-flowing paragraphs of image-clotted prose, without a single plot point or character in sight, and instantly my mind turns to the Dark Tower. Readers of King’s epic will recognize the line—even with the original leaf in place of the …
Has flowery language from another era, and even gives a narrative on a baby’s thoughts before he develops language.
I tried very hard to read this book because it is a classic. After a trip to Asheville, NC and hearing so much about Thomas Wolf I really was looking forward to it. However, after reading 27% (on my Kindle), I just can’t deal with it anymore. I love to read and this book is quite simply a chore. Thomas Wolf had a way with words, but there are …