Winesburg-en-Ohio (1919)

The stories in Winesburg, Ohio, tell of a restless longing for something that the characters can’t quite define, but which may be community or connection. It has an aura of disappointment verging on despair. The town is filled with lonely souls who seem detached from everyone around them, except for young reporter George Willard, who seems to be the last remaining thread connecting the people of Winesburg. What will happen to the town when George Willard leaves?

Anderson seems to capture the beginning of the Midwest’s shift from agricultural economy to manufacturing economy and the waning of its small towns. Everyone with Midwestern roots ought to read this book. ( )

I know many of my friends did not enjoy this collection as much as I did. They called the interconnected stories "depressing." I chose to focus on the glimpses of small town life and the beautiful way the author painted the picture with adjectives and other words. George Willard appears in most of the stories, and we gain lots of insights into his character through the course of the book. I found a lot of truth in the small town life depiction even a century later. While I know many will disagree with my high rating, this one resonated with me. ( )

A collection of short stories about the citizens of the small town. What most of the stories have in common is that each character has something that makes them feel isolated and often desperately unhappy, whether this is a bad marriage or an unsuccessful career or unrequited love. While some readers have found this a depressing book, and it certainly isn't a happy one, there are little unexpected touches of humor, and a lot more sex than you'd expect in a book published in 1919. ( )

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson was originally published in 1919 and consists of 22 short stories loosely connected by setting and characters. One character, George Willard, appears in all but 6 of the stories, and we read about his growing up years and his observations in the small fictional town of Winesburg, Ohio. From the moment of reading the first story, “The Book of the Grotesque” the author sets the stage for his series of less than flattering stories about the loneliness and isolation that can exist in a small town.

Anderson is reputed to have strongly influenced authors such as Faulkner, Hemingway, Steinbeck and Wolfe by his modern style of writing. Nothing here is over-written or padded with flowery descriptions. The themes that Anderson explores are mostly connected with the inability to communicate and feeling that one doesn’t fit in. While on the surface life moves gently along in this small town, underneath there is darkness, jealousy, and unfulfilled yearnings.

While I can certainly see the uniqueness of Winesburg, Ohio, I can’t say that I enjoyed the book as I found the various stories rather depressing. Personally I would have preferred some of the stories to express a little lightness or humor but these loosely connected stories about the troubled characters of Winesburg, Ohio is well worth the read. ( )

Series of interconnected stories set in the early part of the 20th century (preindustrial) small town, Ohio. Themes of loneliness and isolation even though these characters are living in a small town.The work is structured around the life of protagonist George Willard, from the time he was a child to his growing independence and ultimate abandonment of Winesburg as a young man.Because of its emphasis on the psychological insights of characters over plot, and plain spoken prose, Winesburg, Ohio is known as one of the earliest works of Modernist literature. It is also a forerunner of the novel made up of a bunch of interconnected short stories.
The cycle consists of twenty-two short stories, one of which consists of four parts:[note 1]

The Book of the Grotesque
Hands—concerning Wing Biddlebaum
Paper Pills—concerning Doctor Reefy
Mother—concerning Elizabeth Willard
The Philosopher—concerning Doctor Parcival
Nobody Knows—concerning Louise Trunnion
Godliness
Parts I and II—concerning Jesse Bentley
Surrender (Part III)—concerning Louise Bentley
Terror (Part IV)—concerning David Hardy
A Man of Ideas—concerning Joe Welling
Adventure—concerning Alice Hindman
Respectability—concerning Wash Williams
The Thinker—concerning Seth Richmond
Tandy—concerning Tandy Hard
The Strength of God—concerning The Reverend Curtis Hartman
The Teacher—concerning Kate Swift
Loneliness—concerning Enoch Robinson
An Awakening—concerning Belle Carpenter
"Queer"—concerning Elmer Cowley
The Untold Lie—concerning Ray Pearson
Drink—concerning Tom Foster
Death—concerning Doctor Reefy and Elizabeth Willard
Sophistication—concerning Helen White
Departure—concerning George Willard
Written third person omniscient narrative. ( )