Tag Archives: American classic literature

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin – Back to the Classics Challenge

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Go Tell it on the Mountain cover

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin was first published in 1954. The author’s name seemed to be popping up all the time some months ago and I realised I hadn’t read anything by him, it was time to rectify that.

Sadly I can’t say that I enjoyed this book much, it’s obviously well written but the subject matter didn’t appeal to me. I’m not keen on religion of any type, and the type depicted in the store-front church in the book, The Temple of the Fire Baptized, even less so. The hysteria and speaking in tongues really puts me off, so I was never desperate to get back to the book whenever I put it down. I realise that that must seem beside the point as after all the book is about horrific racism and its effects and charismatic religion was probably a balm for some. The book was no doubt a trail blazer in its day, and must have been painful for Baldwin to write as it is semi-autobiographical and features a lot of child abuse in the shape of beatings – beating the devil out.

I’ll definitely be trying something else by Baldwin though.

I read this one for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2021 which is hosted by Karen K at Books and Chocolate.

At Fault by Kate Chopin

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At Fault

At Fault by Kate Chopin was first published in 1890. It’s the first book that I’ve read by the author.

The setting is a large plantation in Louisiana where Therese Lafirme’s husband has died and left her to run the place on her own, with the help of many Creole servants of course. I must admit that it was a long time before I understood why Therese had urged David Hosmer to re-marry Fanny, his first wife, when Therese was obviously keen on him herself.

As soon as Hosmer re-married Fanny he regretted it, Fanny is an alcoholic and had made his life a misery previously. He takes Fanny back to Louisiana where her drinking continues and Therese realises that she has shackled the man that she loves to a pathetic and deeply damaged woman. Why did she do it?

Doh, I realised eventually that it was because she was a Roman Catholic of French descent and couldn’t marry a divorced man, it still seems bizarre that she should encourage David to re-marry his ex-wife, bringing Fanny into her own milieu.

There’s a lot of Creole dialect in this book but it’s not difficult to understand – please note that – anyone who complains about Scots dialect in books!

I believe this was Chopin’s first book and I think she must have improved with experience, but I don’t know if I would bother reading any more, unless anyone recommends a specific book by her.

In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck

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In Dubious Battle cover

In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck was first published in 1936 at a time when things in the US were still pretty desperate, before World War 2 kick-started the recovery from the Great Depression. I have to say that I had never even heard of this book, but as I enjoyed reading East of Eden recently I thought I would see what else was available at the library and this one popped up. In Dubious Battle is the first of three books that he wrote on labour issues in California, the other two being of course Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. In 1935 Steinbeck had a very tough time of it when he went to New York looking for work that just wasn’t there so he knew first hand how difficult it was for a (non) working man.

In Dubious Battle tackles the issue of itinerant farm labourers, specifically apple pickers. By the time the apple pickers had made their way to the farms by train the rate of pay had fallen. The farm owners are taking advantage of the situation, knowing that the men are just about on their knees.

Jim Nolan is a young man who has had a tough time, beaten by cops and then jailed for vagrancy when he had only stopped to see what was going on at a labour meeting. Whilst in jail his mother dies, the system has just about defeated him. He feels that the unfairness of life has to be re-balanced and so decides to join the Party. It isn’t specified as the Communist Party, I suppose Steinbeck thought the book was going to be controversial enough.

Jim is an intelligent chap and impresses the Party leaders so it’s not long before he is taken to the fruit farm to mingle with the disgruntled workers. The Party wants to make the workers come out on strike so Jim and the others set about manipulating the men and then go to work organising everything. It’s only ever going to end in disaster and the Party bigwigs know that. In reality the Party guys are no more interested in the ordinary working people than the landowners are. The small guy is expendable as far as the Party is concerned.

Apparently Steinbeck was interested in the psychology and behaviour of crowds and how they react to certain situations, he has the Party men manipulating everything and it’s clear that Steinbeck is no more enamoured of the Party members than he is of the landowners.

When vigilantes from the nearest town rear their ugly heads Steinbeck has two characters saying:

“Mac, who in the hell are these vigilantes, anyway? What kind of guys are they?”

“Why, they’re the dirtiest guys in any town. They’re the same ones that burned the houses of old German people during the war. They’re the same ones that lynch Negroes. They like to be cruel. They like to hurt people, and they always give it a nice name, patriotism or protecting the constitution. But they’re just the old nigger torturers working. The owners use ’em, tell ’em we have to protect the people against the reds. Y’see that lets ’em burn houses and torture and beat people with no danger. And that’s all they want to do anyway. They’ve got no guts; they’ll only shoot from cover, or gang a man when they’re ten to one. I guess they’re about the worst scum in the world.”

Amen to that, I love Steinbeck. The next book of his I’ll be reading is A Russian Journal.

One of Ours by Willa Cather

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I loved this book which was first published in 1922 and I downloaded it free from girlebooks. I’ve read quite a few books by Willa Cather and I’ve liked them all but I hadn’t even heard of this one so when I looked it up to see when it was published I was gobsmacked to see that she had won the Pulitzer prize for it.

It begins in Nebraska and I thought it was going to be one of her rural, pioneer type books which would’ve suited me fine but it goes on to be so much more.

Claude Wheeler is the middle son in the Wheeler family and his parents are quite well off, the farm is successful but Mr Wheeler is an awkward character and Claude doesn’t really fit in. He’s supposedly the brightest son and he’s dutiful and does as he’s told but in truth his father would like Claude more if he was more like his brothers who don’t toe the line and therefore are given more respect for having stronger characters.

Everything which Claude does is wrong and he even ends up marrying a dreadful, cold woman who is only interested in Christianity and prohibitionism. His parents can see history repeating itself as Claude’s father-in-law has had a miserable life with his wife.

Meanwhile the news from abroad is grim as the First World War is raging in Europe and the inhabitants of Nebraska are horrified at the newspaper reports from the old country. They are keen for their president to take them into the war but they have to wait quite a long time. When it does happen, Claude joins up immediately, wanting to escape his situation.

Eventually he gets to France as Lieutenant Wheeler and army life seems to suit him. For once he fits in.

As you can imagine, this is a sad tale, given the subject matter, but it’s something that I’ve always been interested in and I think this is the first novel about that war which I’ve read which has been written by an American. I’d be happy if anyone can recommend any others to me.

I love Cather’s descriptions so here’s a flavour from France.

When the survivors of Company B are old men and are telling of their good days they will say to each other, “Oh that week we spent at Beaufort!” They will close their eyes and see a little village on a low ridge, lost in the forest, overgrown with oak and chestnut and black walnut …. buried in autumn colour, the streets drifted in autumn leaves, great branches interlacing over the roofs of houses, wells of cool water that taste of moss and tree roots.