The Web and the Rock (Voices of the South) - Softcover

Wolfe, Thomas

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807123897 ISBN 13: 9780807123898

Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr, 1999

Synopsis

This novel is about one man's discovery of life and the world," begins Thomas Wolfe in his author's note to The Web and the Rock. A literary theme so ambitious and all-encompassing almost defies attempt, but Wolfe's story of George Webber is nothing less than astonishing. It follows Webber from his southern upbringing to his college days to his travels abroad to his arrival in New York City, where he aspires to become a successful writer. Then he meets Esther Jack, and things go as differently - but wonderfully so - as they possibly could. Beautiful and wealthy, a socialite, stage designer - and married woman - Esther reveals life and New York for him like nothing before.
George Webber's youth and the rise and fall of his turbulent passion for Esther Jack are essential components in Wolfe's complete vision for his protagonist, whose story continues in You Can't Go Home Again. The wisdom Webber suffers - cumulatively, undeniably realized by the close of The Web and the Rock - becomes his fingerpost through subsequent experience.

About this title

Review

Novel by Thomas Wolfe, published posthumously in 1939 after being reworked by editor Edward Aswell from a larger manuscript. Like Wolfe's other novels, The Web and the Rock is an autobiographical account of a successful young writer from North Carolina living in New York City in the early 20th century. The main character, George Webber, bears many similarities to Eugene Gant, the soul-searching protagonist of Wolfe's earlier novels Look Homeward, Angel (1929) and Of Time and The River (1935). Esther Jack, who first appeared in Of Time and the River, is an urban sophisticate who becomes Webber's lover and muse. The Web and the Rock has been criticized for its inconsistent style but praised for its poetry and passion. Its sequel is You Can't Go Home Again (1940). -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

From Library Journal

Published posthumously in 1939, this novel introduces George Webber, whose saga is followed up in Wolfe's signature work, You Can't Go Home Again. The story begins with Webber's North Carolina upbringing and moves on to his relocation to New York City, where he meets wealthy socialite Esther Jack, who introduces him to a whole new world. Essential for public and academic libraries.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Louisiana State Univ Pr
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0807123897
• ISBN 13: 9780807123898
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 712