Published in 1932, a year after Pearl Buck's THE GOOD EARTH,
Caldwell's TOBACCO ROAD paints a different picture of a man's
relationship with the soil. It only takes an hour with
Caldwell's TOBACCO ROAD to realize that the oft-held opinion
that contemporary literature holds no equal in shock value is
false. H.L. Mencken helped Caldwell fight the censors and get
the book published. Not surprisingly, Margaret Mitchell,
author of GONE WITH THE WIND, was one of the major opponents
against Caldwell's book. She commented that there was not a
single pervert in her novel.
It's the story of the impoverished Lester family living atop
a ridge in the hills and hollers of Georgia, a few miles
outside of Augusta. The conditions they endure and their
attitude towards life are as shocking today as it was 70
years ago. Coarse and ignorant to begin with, extreme poverty
allows them the distinction of achieving new lows in
deprivation, degradation and brutality.
Erskine was born in Georgia in 1903, and moved with his
family close to Augusta in 1919. He began his literary career
working for two newspapers, both the local and The Augusta
Chronicle. From here, he saw the plight of the local
sharecroppers with his own eyes. Towards the end of his life
he recalled, "I got a good look at these conditions firsthand
after I took a job as a driver for a country doctor. I saw
people eating clay to fill their stomachs, and I entered tiny
shacks with dirt floors that had as many as 15 people living
inside." Caldwell used these experiences as the foundation
for 26 novels, 16 collections of stories, and 15 nonfiction
books. TOBACCO ROAD and GOD'S LITTLE ACRE were
bestsellers.
One of the great strengths of TOBACCO ROAD is its ability to
show humor in spite of the miserable conditions and brutal,
inhumane attitudes of the characters. Without this dark humor
the book would be just another dreary and depressing
melodrama. His social satire is reminiscent of Twain's TOM
SAWYER and HUCKLEBERRY FINN. We laugh at the follies of the
Lesters, but we see a part of the Lester family in
ourselves.
Caldwell, along with Mississippi writer William Faulkner,
unintentionally forged a new genre called Southern Gothic,
which follows a plot line of ignorant Southerners involved in
violent evil, and distinguished authors Flannery O'Connor,
James Dickey, and Harry Crews have carried on the
tradition.
In 1965 TOBACCO ROAD was third in total sales in the U.S.,
right in front of Mitchell's book, a minor but satisfying
retribution.
miker
----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Robison" <
zspider@gte.net> To: <
rara-avis@icomm.ca> Sent: Sunday, November 03, 2002
10:58 AM Subject: Re: RARA-AVIS: Hammett's THE MALTESE
FALCON: Robison
> Todd wrote:
> > You don't get into Spade's head except through
what you can intuit, or
> what
> > he seems to tell you. Hence its potential to be
made into a superb film
on
> > the third try.
>
> *************
> I went back through FALCON last night while the
family was watching
> Jodie Foster in Panic Room. My memory definitely
needed refreshing.
> I hadn't even remembered that it was written third
person. And I seemed
> to remember some internal thoughts of Sam's
regarding Iva and Brigid.
> I was wrong.
>
> I'm watching Ride the Pink Horse right now. Quite a
bit different from
> Hughes's book. Pila looks pretty damn hot for a
14-year-old.
>
> miker
>
> --
> # To unsubscribe from the regular list, say
"unsubscribe rara-avis" to
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