The Works of Love

by Wright Morris

"When I was a boy of eight in the Platte Valley of Nebraska, my father made the first of the many moves that would prove to be of interest to a future writer of fiction. They were east to Chicago, the point on the map where all the lines pointed. Almost twenty years would pass before I would seek to recapture the past that I had experienced. The Works of Love is the first fruit of that effort, and the linchpin in my novels concerned with the plains. The reader who has read The Home Place or The Field of Vision will find in this novel the crux of an experience I frequently return to but never exhaust."—Wright Morris

Genres: Novels, Literature

269 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Wright Marion Morris was an American novelist, photographer, and essayist. He is known for his portrayals of the people and artifacts of the Great Plains in words and pictures, as well as for experimenting with narrative forms.
Morris won the National Book Award for The Field of Vision in 1956. His final novel, Plains Song won the American Book Award in 1981.

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most moving novels in all of American literature. But since Wright Morris never grovels for emotional response, this like all the rest of his work is destined to remain a possession of the few.

[Devin Kelly]

such a strange & beautiful book

[Jerry Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5ish
I can't recall who or what recommended this book to me. I think it may have been the GoodReads algorithm..
I don't really understand the story or where the author was trying to take me.
It followed the life of a guy that pretty much acted on every whim.
Start an egg business - alright.
Ignore wife and chase a cigar girl - got it.
Pretend kid doesn't exist but think about him all the time - done.

It goes on.

Pass on this one, not worth the time.

[Corey Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad.

[Pam Goodwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Imagine the most boring story you've ever heard from a friend. Now take out every interesting detail of that story, and a few important character names. The end result is this book.

[Jenna Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's taken me days to decide how to rate this book. It's so flat and dry. Put as many Saltine crackers in your mouth as you possibly can and try to eat them. That's what this book is like.

[Ron at Rockhaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best openings of a novel ever, and ah the narrative voice. my personal favorite of his novels. ceremony in lone tree, fire sermon and its companion a life, man and boy, plains songs, are others at the top of my list of his many works. he wrote an essay on fiction once about its roots being in the trinity of memory, emotion, and imagination, and those themes themselves are here and in many of his works. but ah the narrative voice and sense of place.

[Dominic Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unexpectedly lovely and sad and wise.

[Edward Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the best first paragraphs I've ever read. I would have liked a few more like that. I didn't love this novel, found it a bit boring. I expected it to be a bit more literary.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange, spare, frankly odd. Wonderful.