The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth TarkingtonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well, I have discovered that I am a lot worse at writing reviews than I thought. Strange that someone as opinionated as I am would have such a hard time putting my opinion on paper (as it were), but there you go. As a result, here is my review, mostly written at midnight when I had just finished the book and could barely keep my eyes open.
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I spent most of this book thinking that the main character, George Amberson Minafer was an annoying, rich kid on a power trip. While I was not wrong, towards the end of the book, I found myself feeling sorry for him and blaming his mother for everything - and trust me, there is a lot - that is wrong in his life.
The beginning of the book is devoted to explaining to the reader just how powerful and mighty the Amberson family is. You hear all about little Georgie Amberson Minafer, the grandson of the only daughter of the town's founder, Major Amberson. Not well liked - in fact, I would go as far as to say hated - by most of the town, Georgie can do no wrong in his mother's eyes.
The middle is all about watching the world change and the family's inability or unwillingness to change with it. Fortunes are lost and fortunes are made. Long lost love is found again and new love is discovered.
The end of the book is sadly all about the fallout that happens once George gets his comeuppance - something that is frequently wished for by people young George encounters. George is left to pick up the pieces of his wreck of a family and although he was ill prepared, he manages to do what he has to do and takes care of business.
Tarkington paints such a vivid picture that it is hard to not see the changes that industrialization brought to small town America. You can almost see it in your own town. The expansion, the once mansions broken up in to boarding houses, the streets designed for carriages having to accommodate the automobile.
As much as I wanted to dislike this book, I ended up loving it. It is very easy to see why it won the Pulitzer Prize. I give The Magnificent Ambersons five stars.
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2 comments:
I'll have to add this one to my reading list. Good review btw!
Thanks! I don't know why it was so hard to wrote. I mentioned on Facebook that if we were sitting at the park or a restaurant, I could tell you everything I loved, hated and didn't care about the book. Something about putting it down on paper (or screen) that made me have little in the way of an opinion. Someone suggested that I vlog my next review and another friend suggested that I dictate in in to my phone and then type it. If the next one is this hard, I may have to try one of those!
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