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this is a partial rec because I'm only about halfway through it right now but there's something special about an autobiography that reads like such a well formed piece of fiction. Woody Guthrie has always been a character of myth in Americana and he seems to even understand this while writing his own life's story. Living through tornado tragedy and skipping town to town, traveling the country by train, it all seems larger-than-life and very well could be embellished, but that doesn't take away from the story he's trying to tell about American life. It's easy to see him as a Paul Bunyan-type folklore hero, killing fascists with his guitar and riding the rails to discover America.
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I think this one stuck with me so much because it was so short and I had just read a succession of long-ass books (Plus Johnson is an Iowa Writers workshop alum).
Johnson tells a panoramic story with a wide enough lens to capture both the valleys and mountains of the North Western corner of the US, as well as the better portion of the book’s protagonist’s life.
Simultaneously, this books captures the tiny moments effortlessly and there’s plenty to be pulled out of the details.
all that comes together to paint what i can only imagine to be an accurate depiction of the life of a man in the 20th century. Could any other time in history be so big and yet so small at the same time?
Jan 24, 2024
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Actually the great American novel! A former lover suggested-- nay demanded-- that I read this and I feel eternally grateful. The most accessible and in my opinion, important Faulkner there is. The prose is so beautiful and rich, each page on its own is a joy to read. But the story, the STORY is wild and horrifying and wrenching in both the micro and macro. I read this last spring and wished that I had read it for the first time in the summer but in hindsight: this is a winter time book. It's made to be devoured slowly and introspectively. I wish there was a film adaptation.
Nov 30, 2023
grim and soaring novel about 1840's mountain men, native relations, trappers, and bloody pioneering in North America
written in 1947 but defies expected conventions and stereotypes
content warning: contains some racially offensive words (though not used in the contexts you'd expect)
— the follow up to this, which I've just ordered, won the 1950 Pulitzer
Dec 31, 2024
Top Recs from @will
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School made us think reading is a holy act. It is not. Its just something to do. Like watching a movie or sports. You aren’t going to be tested by anyone. Read high. Read drunk. Read 2 pages. Read half awake. Remember nothing or just some of it. It really doesn’t matter
May 2, 2024
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Just do it who cares she probably knows better
Feb 27, 2025