This book was a major disappointment. I really looked forward to reading it for a variety of reasons. I was fascinated that the simple phrase "you can't go home again" is often prefaced by "As Thom Wolfe has said". He owned it. I wanted very much to explore the phrase and thoroughly expected this book to answer that need. The phrase is rich with psychological meaning. It talks to both our present and our past, our seeing the past rosier than it ever was and our having needs that nostalgia addresses. But my hopes were dashed. While Wolfe does explore going back home he puts a spin on it that takes us in an entirely different direction. Instead of being the prodigal son who returns to his people he is the writer who has exposed everything about where he came from and more than anything the failings and faults of all the people back there. No wonder no one welcomes his homecoming. He's not the hero, he's a traitor. That was not the exploration of a yearning we all feel. Has he ruined the phrase by immediately associating it was this other issue? Hopefully only those who actually read the book will be sidetracked. A cold shower may not be enough. The phrase " you can't un-ring a bell" comes to mind.

This novel again feels autobiographical. The central character, George Webber, is a southern writer struggling to focus on writing. It also is very much of a time and place. It was written at the height of the depression and with the rise of Nazis and fascists in Europe. Lots of easy targets. The roaring twenties is exposed for its lack of a real foundation. All those beliefs in growth and reward make easy targets for lack of foresight. They didn't see the ground coming out from under them. Wolfe sees them as pure speculators and hucksters, not as builders of a better future. The banker who had been seen as a pillar of the community is now someone who stole other people's money. Not surprising that Wolfe became popular, everyone wanted to put the blame on someone for their predicament. In the beginning of the story George has a wealthy older, married, mistress. He's even invited to a party she's giving with her husband. He reluctantly attends. The party turns out to be a disaster. The performer she's hired brings his own entourage and a fire ends the fiasco. George decides he can't continue with the relationship, he clearly disapproves of her life, her husband and their friends. He decides enough of that, that's all false and he wants to have nothing to do with that. He saw it as interfering with his writing. I was disappointed. That storyline seemed interesting.

George then moves to Brooklyn living a much sparer life style and concentrating on finishing his first book. Not clear that this is what Wolfe did but it would not surprise me. Once his book is published he has some money and moves to Paris, like many writers of that time. He falls under the sway of a major writer who believes that George, based on his first book, is a major writer. George appreciates the attention. He even visits Berlin. He eventually returns to New York living in a apartment with some other Southerners. I found this section of the book less engaging. I did not see the point of it. It's a shame Wolfe dies young and we have so few of his works. He was definitely a talented writer. ( )

Now that I've decided to try to 'review' each book that I have cataloged, there will be books( like this one) where I may recall reading it some years ago, may or may not remember how or why I liked it, but still can recall only a few or maybe no details about the experience. ( )

hardback

Long but enchanting. Some of the episodes described are wonderful, and unique. Not for the faint of heart ( )

I don't read a lot of fiction, but since I was in high school, I've been told that Thomas Wolfe was one of America's greatest writers. Since, unlike Fitzgerald and Hemingway, I have never been required to read his work, I thought I would begin with You Can't Go Home Again, which has been called his magnum opus. The book surprised me.

To begin with, I didn't care for the characters. Generally, to really enjoy fiction, I must like or at least relate to the characters. But here, I was either completely indifferent toward, or actively disliked, all of them. Next, the writing style could be difficult. I understand that the style was meant to mirror the atmosphere George Webber, the main and semi-autobiographical character, was immersed in. But it was still difficult to wade through. George did have his issues.

What kept me reading were the moments of startling genius that blazed through. I would find myself wanting to toss the book into the backyard, only to be suddenly be pulled up short with an astounding insight into human character made, seemingly out of nowhere. These moments kept me reading.

In the end, I found myself both pleased and aggravated with George's sincere but arrogant assertions that his understanding of how a person ought to behave is the only decent course available. After completing it, I found that the book was published posthumously by Wolfe's editor. This is not Max Perkins on whom Fox Edwards was based, but the editor Wolfe left Perkins for. That explained some things. I give this book a high rating because, in spite of its flaws, it forced me to confront unpleasant traits in human beings and society. Sometimes I don't know the truth until someone like Wolfe points it out. One day, I may work up my nerve to read Wolfe again. ( )