Fiction Literature Books

Like some of the other reviewers on here, Anna K did not grab me from the beginning. It was Almost 100 pages before I found myself lost in her world. Everyone's heard of Tolstoy's and having not read it I was worried about not "getting" this version. It was not at all necessary to have read it before reading Reyn's. I was slightly confused at first with the Russian nicknames, but it only takes a little bit to catch onto that. I really felt for Anna. She seemed real to me. Which is why it makes sense that at times I found myself angry with her choices and at times completely understanding them. The way the author talks about Russian life in New York is a life of it's own. Her prose flows and I found myself caught up and reading for an hour or more when I only had 15 minutes. This book is very much worth reading. It has me wanting to read Tolstoy's just to see if I enjoy it as much as Reyn's.

After reading some of the reviews of this book, I decided to take a different route with my review. I guess the plot and basic summary of this book have been made very clear, so there's no need for me to restate that the protagonist, Anna, is an unhappy 37 year old woman who is unsatisfied in her marriage and looks to another man to help her fulfill the insatiable desires that even Anna herself can't seem to pinpoint.

Instead, I will mention the author's smooth writing style and attention to detail. The author allows the reader to crawl inside Anna's head and get a thorough understanding of exactly what Anna is thinking. Some of Anna's thoughts are irrational and senseless, but it's exciting to see that thought process in action. The author also allows the reader to live within the Russian-Jewish immigrant community and become a part of this "family" for a little while. As the granddaughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants, I really loved this aspect of the story. Words and ideas just flow into each other, making this book an absolute pleasure to read.
Aside from the similarities to the original Anna Karenina, Irina Reyn's story is worthy in its own right and deserves a special place among modern Russian literature.

There is one thing I feel I need to note, and that is the Russian naming system. I lent this book to a friend of mine and, although she also loved it, she was a little bit confused about some of the various derivitives of the Russian names. I guess I never thought twice about it since I understand how the naming system works in Russia, but I can see how someone might get confused if they don't understand why the protagonist is Anna Roitman on one page and Anna Borisovna on the next, or why Alex is sometimes called Sasha. This does not make the story difficult to understand at all, but it may make the reader scratch her head and go, "huh?"

This is a wonderful book! I feel real empathy toward Anna, possibly because I see pieces of myself in her. Every character in this story is well rounded and the plot moves in a smooth, fluid manner. The language and cultural references are rich, and after reading what the author wrote about the feelings and emotions of the Russian immigrant, and her comments about the Russian soul, I can't help but think that parts of this story might be a bit autobiographical in nature. To me, that just makes it all the better.

This book is a treasure to me and it will occupy a space on my shelf next to the original Anna Karenina. I don't believe Tolstoy would mind.

I confess: it has been a long time since I read Anna Karenina and all I remember is that famous first line and equally famous end of Anna, so I read What Happened to Anna K. almost fresh, not comparing this Anna K. and her story to the much more famous and other Anna K. I cannot say whether a more intimate knowledge of Tolstoy's Anna would enrich or detract from this novel, but I can say that I think that most intelligent readers will really enjoy this novel.

After the first few pages of the novel, I felt sorry for Anna K. She was a sympathetic character for whom life had not been altogether fair in the romance arena. She has never met her soul mate and is instead settling for a wealthy, doting older man whom she does not love. Reyn then cleverly maneuvers the reader into other characters' minds, like that of Anna's cousin Katia, Katia's boyfriend David and Katia's husband Lev. The fuller truth about Anna K. is then revealed and she is no longer the fully sympathetic character she once was.

Reyn tells this story masterfully, with terrific characters, wonderful plotting and compelling narrative. What Happened to Anna K. is a fun, enjoyable read, cleverly told, and mercifully, a good deal shorter than the original Anna K.'s story. Enjoy!

I'd never read the original, and in fact the closest I got was seeing a Broadway musical version of it years ago. That said, I think many people are at least vaguely familiar with the story: Repressed woman in a stifling marriage has an affair, tragedy ensues. Reyn doesn't merely update the story, she also manages to add plenty of social commentary on the Russian immigrant experience in America. I can't say I necessarily sympathized with this modern Anna, but nevertheless her fall is still painful to watch. Reyn is a talented writer who has created a pretty terrific piece of literature in it's own right.

Interesting glimpse into the glitzy world and lifestyle of the Russian/Russian Jewish community in new York. The novel introduces us to the lifestyle and culture (with all its variations) brought with them from Russia.

The story follows Anna K as she marries late, and then, finding her marriage to a much older man too bland for her tastes, starts a relationship with a younger non-Jewish man and is almost immediately repulsed by those around her.

Her cousin Katia also features strongly in this novel, with her husband fighting off an attraction to the increasingly imploding Anna K and the novel ends tragically.
This is not the type of book where you can't put the book down until you have turned the last page. Rather the first 10 chapters need a lot of attention purely because the writer injected a lot of background to help the reader understand the mindset involved in the characters. While she did a good job, a few early chapters were heavy going and I had to go back over a few chapters to make sure I understood certain situations.

The story intensifies and gains pace beyond chapter 10 and though not a gripping novel, it certainly kept me interested enough to want to finish the book.

A great book to read in your spare time, and an interesting insight into the Russian Jewish culture and lifestyle in new York.

This is the first book I've read by Bukowski. I first came across him due to amazon's recommendations, as I had been reading quite a bit of Henry Miller.

Well, for various reasons I got turned on to John Fante, and finally picked up some Bukowski books.

I think in Orwell's essay on Henry Miller he noted that Miller marked the future of 'literature.' I read this as "modern man will have nothing to write about except bitching." Well, I see Bukowski in the same modern light, and I enjoyed reading this book.

Bukowski (or Chinaski) does seem bitter, even selfish, unrepentant, misogynistic, and isn't a role model. Having said that, it's quite refreshing to read, as un-PC as can be, in this world of cookie-cutter bullcrap.

Having heard about the actual Post Office from insiders, Bukowski really is quite gentle with his comments, not showing them to be as backwards as is the case.

I enjoyed the book. Bukowski is not as endearing as a Henry Miller, but manages to come off like more of an A-hole despite being less XXX (at least in this book) than Miller. I kept imagining George Carlin as the narrator when I was reading. Anyway, this Chinaski is an alright guy to have a drink with. Just keep him away from your sister.

This is classic comedic literature. Hank, the main character, walks through life in a way that any burned out, working stiff can relate to. I was laughing out loud many times at the hilarious observations and how much I could relate to it. If not great and profound, accept it for being hilarious and profane. However way you look at it, it's well worth the read.

I'm not giving this book two stars because I'm one of those Bukowski-haters. I love his writing. But this isn't the best book of his that I've read. I believe it was published fairly early in his career, which might indicate better was to come from Bukowski. If you don't own any Bukowski books, I'd advise you to buy "Run with the Hunted" rather than this one.

Out of what I've read by Bukowski at this point in time (I've only read four of his books as of today) I would rank this and Ham on Rye as his best.

Most of Post Office revolves around his two stints as a Postal Worker, boozing, gambling, relationships with women and his trying to keep on with his writing while juggling all the other facets of his life. Its actually no wonder he was so miserable working at the post office considering he would drink and peck away at the typewriter every night till 2 a.m when he had to be at work the next morning. But hey you have to keep your dreams alive and it obviously paid off for him in the end.

Like everything else I've ever read by Bukowski he finds great humor in some hellish situations. This is something that kind of gets lost in the shuffle by many of the idiot hipsters that are into Bukowski. They tend to overly romanticize Bukowskis skid row/working class/bohemian lifestyle but neglect to make much of the great humor on his work. Bukowski was a VERY funny guy. Not that there isn't plenty of sad content in his books but I often feel like I'm watching a great stand up comic (including the self loathing that so many of them exhibit) when I read Bukowski.

I love this book. It's genius in it's simplicity. Buy it, read it, and pass it along.

I am so glad I found this author. The book is written so well. It makes you really envision the people and places you are reading about. very good read.

This is an excellent, heart-warming book. Sure to be at the top of my gift giving list this year.

This was a wonderful book. As I love the Christmas season, this is the type of book that gives the true meaning of the season.

The book was great. It makes me want to fill jars and pass them to deserving people.

This is a wonderful book, although it is quite a quick read. Throughout the book you gain such insight into these characters lives and truly understand how powerful the gift of giving is. I was touched by the sheer power of selflessness amidst each character and how we can all learn from them.

I really like the material within the book. I did not realize that it was one huge book instead of 2-3 smaller books. It is awkward to carry to class so if you need a book to handle with comfort get the separate volumes. As for content it is very good!

I would have given this anthology 5 stars were it not for one small problem. It is paperback and it is extremely large. This is quite literally enough material to have split up into two separate volumes. It is available hardbound and, had I been offered that option at checkout, I would have preferred it.

Purchased as a set with Volume 2 (great idea by the way to package them for one low price). Came just in time, great study tool for class, as I'm an English major.

This was a required textbook for a college course. Once again I saved $$$$ by buying my textbooks, new and used, at Amazon and another major on-line auction house. Why anyone would line up like lemmings to get slaughter by the high prices and poor service at college bookstores is beyond my meager comprehension. While everyone else was spending hours in line holding 20 pounds of books, I was one clicking and having my books in a couple days.

If you're a book lover, how can you not love a book like this? It was my required reading for a literature class, and I was all too happy to have an excuse to buy it. Satisfyingly fat at 3000 pages, it exudes that delicious book smell when you flip through it, and its matte-sheen cover feels good in your hands and protects its sizable contents quite well.

For me, this was worth getting just for Seamus Heaney's wonderful translation of Beowulf. You can smell the ocean and hear the armor clank as this readable version places you right there in the sixth century. Along with the usual excerpts from such works as the Canterbury Tales, you get complete versions of King Lear, Twelfth Night, Utopia, and Paradise Lost. After looking over the excerpts from Gulliver's Travels, it appears that sections 1,2, and 4 are presented complete, with only some material edited from section 3, so you get almost all of that, too. The footnotes for this, and all the other works, are enormously useful.

I have a few gripes about the book, however these don't merit the subtraction of a star in the rating. First - this book is SO heavy. Obviously there was no way around this in publishing, because to put this many pages on good-quality paper the laws of physics are working against you. But I have literally suffered backache from bringing it around with me in my book bag, and have had to sorrowfully leave it at home at times because of this. Second, I wish it included a clear list of which major works are presented complete, for those of us who want to make sure to read the whole thing. My final beef is with the editorial introduction to The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale from the Canterbury Tales. Reading this rant about "antifeminist writings" was like stepping from the high halls of classic academia into the junior-college classroom of some washed-up 1970s holdover. I HATE agenda in my education, and in my opinion, applying 20th century (yes, 20th) sentiments to 14th century literature is anachronistic and inappropriate. But such is the state of education these days, and here is your evidence in a volume that should have known better. However, that has been the only thing I have come upon that irritated me.

Buying this book is a great way to get a bunch of classics all at once, and there is so much to it that you can enjoy a long read or a short read anytime you want, once you find a way to work around its mass. I look forward to the years of reading pleasure I'll get from my copy.

While this is definitely a Should Read novel-- after all, the character of Dracula is firmly entrenched in our culture-- I came away from it mildly disappointed. While the epistolary quality is a fun way to get inside the minds of the various characters, I never became comfortable with its inherent misogyny. The women are either pillars of virtue or shameless vixens, and the men's responses to female sexuality are either to possess the woman, kill her, or protect her. This is clearly a response to the time in which it was written, when women were beginning to show their discontent with being merely decorations.

Stoker also shows his (or perhaps his culture's) fear of the other through the constant assertions that London is the center of the civilized world and those places further east are barbaric and backwards. However, this is still essential reading as it's important to get this influential story from the original source and not one of several over-sexed, over-dramatized Hollywood versions.

Bram Stoker's influential late-Victorian novel remains a dominant presence in the realm of horror and vampire literature. While some modern readers may have difficulty with the late 19th-century writing style, the novel itself is a rewarding experience for anyone willing to consider the work, and the use of language should not be held against its brilliance.

Though not the first word in vampire literature and mythology, Stoker's novel is, in a way, the last word - and one very much so worth reading.

I loved this novel; the story was well written and I was even frightened at times as to the detail and the images of the greatest vampire of all time. I would strongly encourage evertbody to read this wonderful classic.

This is a sort of a compendium of all tales about vampires surely the author was able to find at his times. And although I don't know English deeply, it seems only a regular novel, mediocre in strict literary sense.
But a novel isn't only literary language, and "Dracula" has some valors not to disdain.
First, there are a collision between old delayed continental Europe, origin of Dracula, symbol of evil, and modern England in full industrial revolution. Gramophones, telegraphs and other machines hardly exits in Transylvania, but abounds in Britain. It's said Bram Stoker wrote this novel with a typewriter, by then a novelty.
But Stoker lacks romanticism. In this sense, some of the several films about Dracula surpasses this novel in that.
However, the author does hit in some facets; one is disquieting: Dracula only is able to enter in your house if you invite him to do.
Another is the forces of goodness, as professor Van Helsing, Lucy, never resource to official authorities as police. Very British I think, as Dracula is a big peril, but... is his own private peril an enemy, and they achieve well the problem by themselves.

The greatest testament to Stoker's work is that it remains uniquely compelling despite popular conceptions shaped by some appalling cinematic adapdations. Even now, it is possible to understand the enthusiatic response of contemporary readers to his sensational tale of "the Undead" and the hardy souls who take on the eponymous Count. From the chilling opening in the Carpathians, Stoker relates his grimly fascinating tale mainly through diary extracts, also managing the tricky task of creating authentically different narrative voices. Add to the equation some masterful prose, a relentless pace and some genuinely shocking moments and the result is a novel that genuinely deserves the title of "classic".

I don't think I've ever quite understood the whole Eric Carle thing. Still, I have to hand it him that his paintins are incredible and the books are simple enough one can force a dozen school lessons from them. This particular one gives repetition to the "I can" phrase as kids imitate the movements of various animals--that's a fun side effect.

Our 20 month old and 3 year old boys love this Eric Carle gem. It combines beautiful pictures of animals with simple rhythmic text showing body parts and actions -- turning heads, bending necks, raising shoulders, arching backs and others. Best of all, it allows active participation by imitating what is on the page. We have purchased quite a few books but this one is magic.

My 18 month old son loves this book! He watched me do the movements as I read it and now he does them on his own when I read the book! Very cute and interactive.

In this book, various animals and children move parts of their body and encourage other children to do so.

Eric Carle is truly a master of this kind of text. Each spread follows the same repetitive structure - "I'm a $ANIMAL and I can $VERB my $BODYPART - can you? I can do it!" - which makes it very suitable both for young children learning to speak and older children figuring out how to read.

The only part I don't like is at the end, when the little boy says to his parrot (in a neat turnaround) "I am I, and I can wiggle my toe". It doesn't sound very idiomatic to me - I would say, in normal speech "I am me", or perhaps (in the form followed in the rest of the book) "I am a child" or "I am a person" or "I am a human".

This book is also, obviously good to encourage kids to move during a rainy-day storytime, or to let them move if they always are fidgeting during storytime.

This is an excellent, fun book. My 2yr 7 month daughter mimics each of the animals. Its a lot of interactive fun!

A ruler of an empire so vast he has never seen most of it, and a foreign traveler who describes for him the cities he has visited. The narrative voice is poetic, even nostalgic, and the story derives from a conversation between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo, a conversation which is interrupted by a series of vignettes describing the many fantastical cities that Marco Polo has seen, dreamed of, or invented. This book does not have a traditional plot, and readers looking for conflict and action will be disappointed. But readers who enjoy nostalgic, dream-like images and prose that reads like poetry will be enchanted by this short book.

This book is such a nice, small size, and it feels great! The cover isn't terribly interesting, but it's enough to intrigue the person next to you on the train and make you look reasonably intelligent.

Also, the sections in the text are often small enough to read one or two during a reasonable commute. Since it is so small, you might even be able to fit it in your pocket. Quite convenient.

I do have a few small gripes about the book, however. The paper seems rather cheap as it is very thin. The typeface is a little too thick, also, the combination of which sometimes makes it difficult to read.

The descriptions of fantastical dream-cities, which make up the bulk of this book, are wonderful, and I only have one small nit to pick: Calvino, during the mercifully short dialogues between Polo and Khan that book-end each section, tends to become a little too sententious for my liking, subjecting his patient readers to such groaning, sage-like laconicisms as, quote:

Marco Polo describes a bridge, stone-by-stone.
"But which is the stone that supports the bridge?" Kublai Khan asks.
"The bridge is not supported by one stone or anther," Marco answers, "but by the line of the arch that they form."
Kublai Khan remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds:
"Why do you speak to me of stones? It is only the arch that matters to me."
Polo answers: "Without stones there is no arch."

Unquote.

At its best, Invisible Cities could have been written by the insuperable Borges; at its worst, the insufferable Kahlil Gibran.

Calvino's Invisible Cities is very original in concept and execution. A fictional Marco Polo tells a fictional Kublai Khan about the cities he has visited in his travels, all having female names and all having fantastically unique and in many cases, disturbing qualities. During the course of his recollections, Kublai and Polo digress on various topics relating to those cities, the state of Kublai's empire, and the symbolic meaning of it all.

The effect is quite hypnotic, as each city in turn, through physical descriptions of it's architecture and culture presents a unique perspective on mankind. Calvino is saying things about modern as well as ancient civilization. Each city is a city of the mind..a city everyone knows, has known, or will know.

This book is unique and thought provoking, but I did find it a bit repetitive in style. It kind of droned on. That's my only criticism.

5 stars for brilliance, 3 stars for enjoyment.

The expectation that had been set for me when I added this to my reading list? "This is the book where the city is the story." That said, I was expecting more narrative than what I found here. (Call me a traditionalist but I expect a bit of characterization and plot.) As a "book", I didn't much care for Invisible Cities -- but I would add it to my bookshelf as a good lesson in how to write about places. There is some pretty potent imagery and interesting wordplay at work in here.

There are several reasons Virgil is considered the greatest Latin poet: His poetry is a beautiful portrayal of human emotions, his words that describe actions and events are so mesmerizing that one would forget about the significance of these events.

The Aeneid, the result of eleven years of composition, that Virgil didn't live to complete and ordered to burn before his death but which was published later against his wishes, is Aeneas' journey from Troy to Italy chasing his destiny to find the Roman race in Italy.

Then, as now, there was a struggle to win a relatively unimportant prize. The main theme of the Aeneid is who will marry Lavinia. The cause of the Trojan-Latin struggle is a woman; the main theme of one of the greatest pieces of literature is a woman (talk about treating women as objects) . Sadly it seems to me that all human efforts such as literature, creativity, wars and struggles are driven by desire for power and conquest.
In the Aeneid, the Gods, just like humans, are rivals who avenge each other over perceived wrongs and who focus on individual glory, but with the power to use others as their tools to achieve their goals. Minerva, the Goddess who protects the Greeks during the Trojan War and helps them conquer Troy, was driven by her anger towards Trojan Paris's judgment that announced Venus as the most beautiful among goddesses.
Oddly enough, the reason for the Trojan war in the Aenied is not much different than the reason for the war in Homers' Iliad, where a woman, Helen, was the cause of a crazy war(in this story, Venus played a feminine/evil game to get the title of the most beautiful Goddess).

In 19 B.C., the Aeneid was A tale of vengeance, power, desire, love and prophecies, that is not substantially different from today's' tales of craziness. At least then, the words were charming and had some meaning.

Am reading this in a seminar on the Aeneid. Fagles' language carries one along, makes for exciting and very enjoyable reading: the glossary and notes are helpful. His version is further from the Latin than other translators---not a defect if one is reading solely for pleasure, but perhaps gives less sense of the orginal--a bit too Shakespearean at times. Of course for those reading the Latin, the very prosaic but literal translation in the Loeb edition will suffice. For what it is, an excellent effort.

This book arrived on time and was in brand new conditions. The book was at a good price and I saved at least 6 dollars, and possibly 10 dollars of gas. Money worth spending on this book.

If you're reading this, you don't need a review of the contents of the Aeneid...the book itself is light in weight but well constructed and in easy to read type. A very good reading or classroom copy.

I am a great lover of all things classical. Got my first book of Greek myths in elementary school, started taking Latin in 9th grade, loved the Odyssey, liked the Iliad, love Ovid, Aeschylus, Suetonius, Livy, all the ancient heavy hitters....except Virgil. Robert Fagles does a good job translating, this story just didn't do it for me.

There were a lot of really good exciting bits in the Aeneid, but the whole thing didn't hang together. It seemed really disjointed, like there wasn't a thread uniting the whole thing. I know the thread is supposed to be Aeneas and the last of the Trojans' escape from Troy and wander and struggle to reach Italy and establish their destined empire. But it kept going off on tangents. It started out really well, with the sacking of Troy (here Fagles really shows his skill as a translater) and then just unraveled.

I also found Dido extremely annoying. I know she's supposed to be tragic, but to me she just came across as clingy and spineless. Maybe that's just this translation, or my inability to think in a historical mindset, but it was her choice to hook up with Aeneas even though she knew he wouldn't be sticking around, so I had little patience for her complaints when he left. She was a great queen before he turned up, why couldn't she still be a great queen?

This is one of the few classics I've had to make myself finish.

It is always a hard task for me to review a novel by Murakami because of the sheer complexity of his work. This particular novel christened 'Norwegian Wood' after the famous Beatles' song has been looked at as one of Murakami's simplest novels where he was accused of succumbing to the story lines that he has prided himself on avoiding. After reading 'Norwegian Wood' I must say with absolute conviction that these accusations are indeed invalid and have been based on the apparent plot of the novel that at first might seem simple, it is true that there were no signs of any sheep or disappearing elephants in this novel, but it is far from being simple.
I think Murakami has taken a great risk with this novel in the sense that he had the courage to step out of what is natural to him and attempt to write a story in a different style yet he succeeded in making it his own. 'Norwegian Wood' is simply a love story but by saying that we have not even scratched the surface on the intensity of this novel. By the time Murakami was finished with it, this love story has sucked you in its nostalgic era of the 60's and enveloped you in the smells and sounds of every season from January through to December. This isn't just a love story, it is a coming-of-age story, and it is a story within a story. The characters have the definite Murakami style, selfless, sweet some even lovable yet all are intriguingly twisted such is the real world we live in.

This is the third book by Haruki Murakami I read (after Sputnik and South of the Border) and the best so far. Originally written in 1987, the book begins in an airport in Germany, as the titular song by the Beatles playing in the sound system makes middle age Toru Watanabe remember his life as a college student in the late 1960s. As a drama student living in a pension in Tokyo he has to chose between the love of the unstable Naoko (a friend from high school, girlfriend of a friend of Watanabe that commited suicide, and who now lives in a sort of asylum in rural Japan) and the increasing approaches of his college classmate Midori. Meanwhile, he makes two friends: the nerdy, cleanliness obsessed, geography student nicknamed "Storm Trooper" and the ladies man Nagasawa, an amoral student who plans to enter Japan's diplomatic corps. A great book about remembrances, love and the joy and occasional sadness of young life. Perhaps not for the prurrient, since, as in other books by Murakami, explicit sex often punctuates the story.

Murakami has captured me for years with stories about modern Japan and his strange pasta making anti-heroes. The mear thought of him writing a plain romantic novel has kept me from reading this book for years - after finishing it, I can say that all these doubts has been cleared. Even though it lacks the mysterious sheeps and vanishing elephants of his other works, it still is a true Murakami master piece.

Norwegian wood is a extremely moving novel about tragic young love, and as a Murakami love story it is everything one would hope it to be. A terribly intimate story, filled with memorable characters and exceptionally fine prose. Retaining the authors typical musing of life, death, music and literature, in a fine blend with a young person troubled with a world he cannot understand - the world is strange when you're a stranger.

This novel is earthy, romantic, sad and very occasionally dull, for after all the protagonist is often bored and lonely. He has few friendships, but those he has, with one exception, are very strong. He has a very strong moral sense, and deep skepticism of the values of the majority of other college students around him. He is delightfully honest.

The novel is well written. What struck me is that while written in the autobiographical style, dialogue is very important, and in fact you sometimes learn important things about the protagonist through dialogue first: (stop if you haven't read book) how much he is in love with Midori, and just how much self discipline it takes to go through the day and remain active. This is quite realistic, as conversation often gives us insight into ourselves.

As an interesting aside with some relevance, Barack Obama's two years attending Columbia University were spent in relative isolation with few friends (source, Wall Street Journal editorial, Sept 11, which was actually objective).

Murakami's Norwegian Wood seems like another Catcher in the Rye without any traces of annoying repetitiveness of themes. Watanabe, the protagonist of the novel, has already become a figure to emulate in some respects...

"The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair clearly states how people wanted to live the American Dream; which was unfortunately extremely hard in those types of conditions. The setting of the story takes place at first in Lithuania and then the family then moves to Packington, a meat-packing sector of Chicago in the early 1900s, in hope of living better lives and being successful. The conflict that occurs during their stay in Chicago are that Jurgis and his family attempt to pursue the "American Dream", but certain situations come up and interfere their successfulness. The main events that happen are that Ona's boss rapes her, Jurgis has to spend Christmas in jail away from his family, and Ona's death during childbirth. As a result of this, Jurgis feels destroyed by capitalism and Jurgis turns to abandon his family and turns to dishonest means to survive. The resolution to all this is that everyone goes their own separate ways and try to survive their own way and the hard way. They learn how hard it is to live and survive by themselves in those conditions.

The Jungle is a dreary novel about the failed American dream. It shows readers the shadowy side of early 20th century Chicago and the hardships that immigrants had to go through. Jurgis, a Lithuanian immigrant, illuminates the horrible working conditions and shady business tactics that occurred in America during this time period. He vowed that he would just work harder to make more money, yet the only jobs available to him were those that involved back breaking labor in an unsafe work environment. In an effort to alleviate the situation that his family is in, Jurgis joins a union. The reader begins to see just how corrupt Chicago is at this time. Immigrants were used for their cheap labor while the politicians skimmed off the top. Jurgis sprained his ankle while he was working and the meatpacking factory would not pay him until he came back 3 months later. This kind of unfair business practice ran rampant in America during this time. After a series of deaths in his family and stays in jail, Jurgis becomes one of many criminals looking to make a dishonest dollar. He finally must turn to socialism in order to show his discontent for the happenings in America. I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in the corruption of early 1900s America. Upton Sinclair shows how hard it actually was for immigrants to make a living and exposes the the unsafe working conditions in which they had to live and work in.

Using the word "beautiful" to describe Sinclair's "The Jungle" is a bit tedious, and something of an oxymoron. I mean, let's face it: it's a down-and-dirty book, a brutally honest portrayal of Chicago's turn-of-the-century Packingtown. The novel traces Lithuanian immigrant Jurgis Rudkus and his family, as they seek a new life in America--and fall into a trap of immorality and despair. It is not an easy read, in the sense that the imagery Sinclair uses is not watered down; you are made to wince, you are made sick to your stomach. I cannot imagine what this was like for readers at the time it was published, before the Pure Food and Drug Act (the passing of which was a direct result of this novel). Most of "The Jungle" flows along smoothly; it works very well as a novel, even one with a Socialist agenda (the last thirty pages read like a Socialist pamphlet; but then again, that was Sinclair's point, so we can forgive him for that).

Now for the "bonus features" (obviously, I am of the DVD generation). The "Introduction," which offers a brief bio of Sinclair, as well as a brief analysis of the "protest novel"'s role in literature, is a worthy read. The "Interpretive Notes" are a joke, I'm afraid. The Notes are somtimes helpful (if it weren't for one note, we wouldn't know Sinclair was referencing his friend and fellow Socialist, Jack London), but more often simply get in the way (did we really need a refence stating that the "lake" referred to is Lake Michigan? I mean, it's Chicago, for God's sake!). Kudos to the "Suggestions for the Interested Reader" and "Critical Excerpts" sections, for including listings that actually go against Sinclair's views. Combine that with the "Questions for Discussion," and I'd say that this book would be handy in the classroom. I read it outside of class, for the exerpience (and a pleasant one at that), but I can easily see this edition being used in one of my college literature courses (I'd suggest high school, but let's face it, no high school student would be all that interested). So for you Teachers of the World, I highly suggest using this edition of the text. For those of you who simply want to experience Sinclair's classic novel--by all means, dig in. You'll be a bit squeamish in spots, and you might get tired of having Socialist ideals pounded into your skull, but you'll enjoy the experience, and will hopefully come out a richer person because of it. At the very least, you'll thank God somebody had the balls to take on the Beef Trust, and make dinner time a safer place for the rest of us.

Back in high school I read this book and absolutely hated every page of it. The other day I decided that it was time for a re-read so I pulled it back out and started reading.

Short Summary: Jurgis and his extended family migrate to America from Lithuania in search of the American Dream. When they arrive they discover that the American dream may not be available to them, what is available to them is scam after scam, starvation, freezing winters, and slave labor for pitiful wages.

The first chapter of the book is generally enough to make all but the most dedicated readers consider turning back. It is an extended wedding scene with little to know explanation as to who these people are that we are reading about. Though we do meet up with many of the characters later in the book, it's really not the most desirable place for us to leap into the story. The wedding between Jurgis and Ona is a happy affair that nearly breaks their pitiful bank. After this chapter we leap back to the family coming over to America, fumbling about to find a place to stay, trying to learn enough English to get by, and attempting to find jobs.

The family does not have an easy time of it... there are thousands of people in the Chicago area starving for lack of work, the slaughterhouses have their pick of employees, can pay them almost nothing, and can turn them out to the streets with no notice. Women and children are forced to work as well, trying desperately to make ends meet, keep food on the table, and keep coal in the stove for heat.

The bulk of this novel focuses on the horrors of life in that time, particularly the atrocities committed by the slaughterhouses and the meat packing industry. I assure you that after reading this book you will think before you take your next bite of beef or pork (especially sausage). The horrors that this novel brings to light are almost unbelievable in this day and age, but they were true. One cannot even imagine going through the days and nights as this family does. Every time they begin to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it is extinguished again. This book follows the tragic breaking down of the human spirit, the death of the soul, and the degradation of humanity on such a scale as to be almost unbelievable. Sinclair takes us to the brink of despair, we want this family to make it, we want their spirits to soar! We want to see hope glimmering in their eyes and food in their bellies. Such vivid characters and such terrible scenes will stick with the reader long after the book has been closed.

But that is just the first 3/4 of the book... of all of the classics that I have read, both modern and ancient... so far this one has the least satisfying ending. In the last 5 or so chapters of the book, Jurgis is swept up by the socialist movement, and from that point on the reader simply reads speech after speech of socialist propaganda so thick that Sinclair almost leaps out of the book and bashes you over the skull with it. Page after page of brand new, came out of nowhere characters - people we know nothing about theorizing and pontificating over the joys and hopes that the socialist movement is bringing to the people. Page after page of how material wealth should be government run and intellectual wealth should be free, and how the whole concept of Socialism will solve everyone's problems and we can all live happily ever after should we vote socialist.

Now I have nothing against socialism, heck the good old US of A is a socialist country, even though they'll fight you rather than admit it. But I don't like anyone's theories jammed down my throat... especially after they have just drug me through the gutter and have me all emotional about the horrible lives the poor characters are living. I almost took offense to the ending - Jurgis and his family deserved a better ending to their story than that!

I am giving this book 3 stars, the first 3/4 of it is 5 star material, the last couple of chapters was 1-2 star material the appeared out of nowhere, so I'm splitting the difference. I remember now that my hatred of this book back in high school was for the same reason, and I recall arguing with my teacher that this book could have been great if he had let me rip the last 3 chapters off of it... or if Sinclair had woven his socialist theory throughout the book rather than slapping it on at the end. Still I highly recommend reading this book, even if you don't bother reading all of the speeches at the end.

Of the numerous editions of The Jungle that are in print, this version is reasonably good and presented in a scholarly form. However, this version of The Jungle is not the original form. It has been drastically cut in length, with much of the slaughterhouse gore removed and the ethnic material cut way back. Readers would be better to get the "Uncensored" verion of the novel put out by See Sharp Press.