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The Waters of Kronos (1960)

par Conrad Richter

Membres	Critiques	Popularité	Évaluation moyenne	Mentions
93	3	290,646	(3.72)	8
From the time of its first publication in 1960, Conrad Richter's The Waters of Kronos sparked lively debate about the extent to which its story of a belated return to childhood scenes mirrored key events of Richter's own life. As was well known at the time, Richter had spent several years in the Southwest, where he collected the material for his first successful book, Early Americans and Other Stories, but by 1933, he had returned to live in his hometown, Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. John Donner, the main protagonist in The Waters of Kronos, traces a similar route from west to east, although he finds that his family home and native town have been submerged under the deep waters of a lake formed by the construction of a hydroelectric dam. As Richter narrates his alter ego's efforts to salvage his past, he moves beyond "semi-autobiography" to offer what are widely recognized as his most haunting reflections upon the power of family history, the fragility of human memory, and art's role in structuring the communal ethos. David McCullough, a fellow Pulitzer Prize winner, met and befriended Richter in the 1960s and has called him "an American master," praising The Waters of Kronos as "his most beautiful book."… (plus d'informations)

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Récemment ajouté par	rossburnett, alrajul, DavidHT, kamintra, mattorsara, vodelber, ryansutter, Jimbookbuff1963
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3 sur 3

My experience with Conrad Richter, as with a lot of folks, began with Richter's Awakening Land series. I absolutely fell in love with [b: The Trees|13760|The Trees|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386925127l/13760._SY75_.jpg|15888]. I enjoyed and was similarly impressed with the other two books in the series, [b: The Fields|18747290|In the Fields|Willow Aster|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1383361735l/18747290._SY75_.jpg|25807224] and [b: The Town|6442769|Paper Towns|John Green|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1349013610l/6442769._SX50_.jpg|3364505]. [b: The Waters of Kronos|930392|The Waters of Kronos|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347724257l/930392._SX50_.jpg|915385], my latest Richter novel, was a completely different experience. The one similarity was a mystical feel in both [b: The Trees|13760|The Trees|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386925127l/13760._SY75_.jpg|15888] and [b: The Waters of Kronos|930392|The Waters of Kronos|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347724257l/930392._SX50_.jpg|915385], but that mystical quality was a minor aspect of [b: The Trees|13760|The Trees|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386925127l/13760._SY75_.jpg|15888] while it was central to [b: The Waters of Kronos|930392|The Waters of Kronos|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347724257l/930392._SX50_.jpg|915385]. I almost struggled to recognize these works as written by the same author.

Although I did not enjoy [b: The Waters of Kronos|930392|The Waters of Kronos|Conrad Richter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347724257l/930392._SX50_.jpg|915385] nearly as much as I did the Awakening Land series, and that is standard #1 when I read, I did admire what Richter was trying to do, or at least what I think he was trying to do. This novel left more questions unanswered than answered. It would be great for a discussion group where there would be the opportunity to explore all of the alternative theories. (

)

afkendrick | Oct 24, 2020 |

This 1960 novel isn't a bad book, but it bears a definite resemblance to the Twilight Zone episode Walking Distance (Wikipedia) that aired October 30, 1959 (according to both Wikipedia and IMDb). I've never seen that particular Twilight Zone episode, but I read the story in Stories from the Twilight Zone (Kindle edition) and the similarity is a little too great for my personal comfort.

Well, after reconsidering and getting some input from Meredy, I'm switching over to a 3***. (

)

CurrerBell | Jun 2, 2014 |

3198. The Waters of Kronos, by Conrad Richter (read May 19, 1999) This won the 1961 National Book Award. I read Richter's trilogy (The Trees, The Fields, and The Town) in November of 1958 with remembered enjoyment, but have not read anything else by him till now. I found this book an eerily moving book, which really caught me up. The fact that some might call it fantasy did not detract from the power of the story, tho I have a loathing for books in that genre usually. Other than the excursion itself there is nothing fantastic about the protagonist's journey. I was most favorably impressed by the great simple story. (

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Schmerguls | Dec 5, 2007 |

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thingScore 75

Weird. Intriguing. Thought-provoking.

ajouté par Shortride | modifierNational Book Foundation, Harold Augenbraum (Jul 16, 2009)

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For seven days the man who lived by the Western Sea had driven eastward toward the place where he was born, and every day he asked himself the same question. Why had he come?

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The Waters of Kronos

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From the time of its first publication in 1960, Conrad Richter's The Waters of Kronos sparked lively debate about the extent to which its story of a belated return to childhood scenes mirrored key events of Richter's own life. As was well known at the time, Richter had spent several years in the Southwest, where he collected the material for his first successful book, Early Americans and Other Stories, but by 1933, he had returned to live in his hometown, Pine Grove, Pennsylvania. John Donner, the main protagonist in The Waters of Kronos, traces a similar route from west to east, although he finds that his family home and native town have been submerged under the deep waters of a lake formed by the construction of a hydroelectric dam. As Richter narrates his alter ego's efforts to salvage his past, he moves beyond "semi-autobiography" to offer what are widely recognized as his most haunting reflections upon the power of family history, the fragility of human memory, and art's role in structuring the communal ethos. David McCullough, a fellow Pulitzer Prize winner, met and befriended Richter in the 1960s and has called him "an American master," praising The Waters of Kronos as "his most beautiful book."

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