|
Post by hikerjer on Jul 12, 2019 20:05:21 GMT -8
I just read an internet blurb about novels best representing each state. While I can't speak to each selection, many of them seemed ridiculous to me. For instance, when it came to California, no mention was made of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath or any of his other great works. Unconscionable, IMO. Relative to own state, Montana, the representative selection was The Horse Whisperer which I thought was pretty much a waste of time. In fact, it was so bad, I couldn't even finish it. IMO, The Big Sky (A.B. Guthre) or A River Runs Through It (Norman Maclean) or Winter in the Blood (James Welch) would have been much better along with a myriad of others.
So, how about you? What's your favorite novel set in your home state?
|
|
|
Post by starwalker on Jul 13, 2019 17:46:02 GMT -8
Oklahoma--a young adult novel I read as a kid--Rifles for Watie about a kid from Kansas in the Union Army during the Civil War.
The Outsiders written by a teenage girl set in Tulsa.
Mean Spirit-a historical novel about oil, and murder in the Osage Reservation of Oklahoma in the 1930's.
I'll think of others once I quit trying to think about them.
|
|
desert dweller
Trail Wise!
Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
Posts: 6,291
|
Post by desert dweller on Jul 15, 2019 6:27:56 GMT -8
Black Sun by Edward Abbey.
|
|
whistlepunk
Trail Wise!
I was an award winning honor student once. I have no idea what happened...
Posts: 1,446
|
Post by whistlepunk on Jul 19, 2019 13:56:25 GMT -8
California didn't get The Grapes of Wrath?
Wow! That one immediately came to mind as the definitive story of California's rise.
Too many to choose. I read a series of books about the history of my part of the state. Very informative. Talked about the early pioneer families, many of who are still in the area. Including several former coworkers. Also the origin of local place names, such as Swain's Hole, Brown Butte, Hambone Butte, Humbug Valley, Penitentiary Flat, and even the little known Cement Panther Creek. Also recounts the recent bowdlerization of some place names that obscures history, like renaming Negro Camp to Black Camp (despite the fact it was named after a Spanish homesteader, Jose Negro). <rolls eyes and shakes head>
|
|
swiftdream
Trail Wise!
the Great Southwest Unbound
Posts: 528
|
Post by swiftdream on Jul 20, 2019 8:58:59 GMT -8
Arizona
At least one on this list should be The Monkey Wrench Gang, a rollicking little adventure through the outdoors and canyons.
|
|
|
Post by plaidman on Jul 25, 2019 8:18:52 GMT -8
I'll nominate Angle of Repose for California. The story travels around the west, but the storyteller in present day is in a cottage in Grass Valley. I find the scenes vivid and the story very moving. Only recently I looked into the history of the book and learned that the family on whose history the novel is loosely based was upset with Stegner for the liberties he took with the characters. I suppose that's the license of an artist--to combine imagination with reality in order to create meaning different than objective history (if there is such a thing). If Stegner hadn't taken those liberties, he wouldn't have captured what to me is the most powerful aspect of the story.
|
|
walkswithblackflies
Trail Wise!
Resident terrorist-supporting eco-freak bootlicker
Posts: 6,899
|
Post by walkswithblackflies on Jul 29, 2019 11:50:54 GMT -8
Relative to own state, Montana, the representative selection was The Horse WhispererThat was an Upstate New York novel that took a vacation in Montana. LOL! My nominations for Upstate New York (since we have absolutely nothing in common with Downstate): The Leatherstocking Tales series (The Last of the Mohicans, The Pioneers, The Prairie, The Pathfinder, and The Deerslayer) Although not a novel... The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Rip Van Winkle, and other short stories). My Side of the Mountain Drums Along the Mohawk
|
|
rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
Posts: 12,629
|
Post by rebeccad on Jul 29, 2019 14:10:33 GMT -8
Relative to own state, Montana, the representative selection was The Horse Whisperer which I thought was pretty much a waste of time. In fact, it was so bad, I couldn't even finish it. IMO, The Big Sky (A.B. Guthre) or A River Runs Through It (Norman Maclean) or Winter in the Blood (James Welch) would have been much better along with a myriad of others. Pretty much anything by Ivan Doig. His two memoirs, Heart Earth and This House of Sky may capture early 20th-Century life in Montana better than Maclean, even. His novels are phenomenal, IMO. As for CA... there are so many. The ones mentioned are good choices. Also The Joy Luck Club and others by Amy Tan. Anne Lamott, though I'm less a fan of her novels than her non-fiction.
|
|
|
Post by hikerjer on Jul 30, 2019 8:17:45 GMT -8
Rebecca,
I’m definitely a fan of Doig. This House of Sky and Bucking the Sun were great. I also enjoyed Work Song. However, I find some of his other works a bit of a chore to get through. However, there is no denying he is one of our state’s literary giants.
|
|
|
Post by trinity on Jul 30, 2019 9:09:11 GMT -8
Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever read a novel set in Texas. I expect most people I know would pick a Cormac McCarthy book. Since mention has been made of a few non-fiction and semi-autobiographical accounts, I will mention my favorite non-fiction book set in Texas, Goodbye to a River, by John Graves. An amazing account of his 1957 canoe trip down the Brazos river, interspersed with historical and personal reflections. Not sure if this is technically a novel or not, but it is definitely one of the best stories ever set in Montana, or anywhere else for that matter. In the fishing literature department, this book is still in a class by itself. walkswithblackflies , I assume you've read A Fan's Notes? Another book that blurs the lines between fiction and autobiography. An amazing book, brutally and painfully honest. As a child I spent my summers in the Thousand Islands, and I thought Exley perfectly captured the culture of Watertown, NY.
|
|
walkswithblackflies
Trail Wise!
Resident terrorist-supporting eco-freak bootlicker
Posts: 6,899
|
Post by walkswithblackflies on Jul 30, 2019 10:26:19 GMT -8
I assume you've read A Fan's Notes? Huh... never heard of it. I'll give it a read. There's also this... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watertown_(album). And many moons ago I heard Bruce Hornsby's "Every Little Kiss" was about his time in Watertown (hence, "the day goes down on the water town"). I thought Exley perfectly captured the culture of Watertown, NY "Culture" and "Watertown" don't often appear in the same sentence.
|
|
swiftdream
Trail Wise!
the Great Southwest Unbound
Posts: 528
|
Post by swiftdream on Jul 30, 2019 10:54:46 GMT -8
Oddly enough, I don't think I've ever read a novel set in Texas. Yu never read Lonesome Dove? I read that book twice. It was set in Texas until they headed north near the end of the book. Also Michener wrote a book called... Texas. I got the Kindle version for $1.99 but have not read it yet.
|
|
|
Post by hikerjer on Jul 30, 2019 10:59:52 GMT -8
Michener is among my all time favorite authors. Right at the top. His historical novel “Texas” is no exception.
|
|
|
Post by trinity on Jul 30, 2019 12:03:58 GMT -8
Yu never read Lonesome Dove? Nope. I certainly know a lot of folks who love the book, I've just never gotten around to it. Truth is, I very rarely read fiction anymore, for whatever reason. "Culture" and "Watertown" don't often appear in the same sentence.
|
|
swiftdream
Trail Wise!
the Great Southwest Unbound
Posts: 528
|
Post by swiftdream on Aug 1, 2019 13:02:09 GMT -8
Michener is among my all time favorite authors. Right at the top. His historical novel “Texas” is no exception. I’ve only read two Michener books, Hawaii and. Centennial a long time ago. Both were very good. I see that Texas is 1474 pages and as much as I want to read it I’m not sure I’m ready to give that much of my life to it at this point. I just finished a great book on the early explorers and climbers of the Sierra and have just started The Stranger by Albert Camus, a book I’ve wanted to read for some time. It is a shorty so won’t take long, maybe a couple days. A book a really want to read but have not acquired yet is a book you recommend some time ago, Trespassing Across America. I read his fine book Walden on Wheels so I’m familiar with the author.
|
|