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Remembering Laughter
“There is no use to mention the assurance and calm that Mr. Stegner brings to his first book—it has to be read to be believed.”—Saturday Review
Margaret Stuart, the proud wife of a prosperous Iowa farmer, sets high standards for herself and others. Happy in her marriage, she tries to look the other way when her genial husband, Alec, takes to the bottle. When Elspeth, Margaret’s sister, comes to live with them, the young woman is immediately captivated by the beauty and vitality of the farm, and by the affection she receives from those around her. But as summer turns into fall, and the friendship between Alec and Elspeth deepens, Margaret finds her spirit tested by a series of events that seem as cruel and inevitable as the endless prairie winters.
…Remembering Laughter (1937) marked Wallace Stegner’s brilliant literary debut.—Print Ed.
“I thought Remembering Laughter a perfect little novel, clean, swift and assured, and I can still feel the weight of the disaster in it.”—Wendell Berry
Margaret Stuart, the proud wife of a prosperous Iowa farmer, sets high standards for herself and others. Happy in her marriage, she tries to look the other way when her genial husband, Alec, takes to the bottle. When Elspeth, Margaret’s sister, comes to live with them, the young woman is immediately captivated by the beauty and vitality of the farm, and by the affection she receives from those around her. But as summer turns into fall, and the friendship between Alec and Elspeth deepens, Margaret finds her spirit tested by a series of events that seem as cruel and inevitable as the endless prairie winters.
…Remembering Laughter (1937) marked Wallace Stegner’s brilliant literary debut.—Print Ed.
“I thought Remembering Laughter a perfect little novel, clean, swift and assured, and I can still feel the weight of the disaster in it.”—Wendell Berry
162 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1937
20 people are currently reading
1552 people want to read
About the author
Wallace Stegner
215 books2,172 followersWallace Earle Stegner was an American historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist. Some call him "The Dean of Western Writers." He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book Award in 1977.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 391 reviews
August 30, 2019
This is Wallace Stegner’s first novel. In my view you do not learn how to write; it is either in you or it is not. I am of course not saying that there are no techniques to be learned to improve one’s writing skills, merely that a true writer is born with an innate talent. Often, a born writer’s talent is there at the start. I view an author’s first work with anticipation. They often exude creativity, imagery, art and feeling. Such is the case here.
This novella, published first in 1937, has gorgeous lines. It is beautifully written. The story told is tragic. It is plausible. It mirrors life.
At the death of two sisters’ father, the younger sister leaves Scotland and travels to her sister’s home in Iowa. Margaret, the elder, is twenty-nine and married to Alec, a farmer. They are doing well; they are prospering. This is not to say that all runs seamlessly; Alec is working hard but he does favor a drink or two. Elspeth, the younger is twenty-two. The sisters’ personalities differ. The story starts at the funeral of Alec and then flips back eighteen years when Elspeth arrives in Iowa. It moves forward, concluding where it had begun. How have the eighteen years shaped these two women? How has their relationship altered?
Cassandra Campbell narrates the audiobook very, very well. Four stars for the narration! She reads at a good pace and with appropriate intonations. She reads in such a manner that you do not pay attention to her but rather to the words of the story. You hear the beauty of the lines and sense the characters’ moods.
Do you value well written lines? Can you deal with life’s tragedies in a story? Do you prefer realism over fairy tales? If you have answered yes, yes and yes, then pick up this book.
I end with one quote from the book:
“...behind the united family front was the intangible shadow of estrangement, an atmosphere of loveless frigidity, nurtured by wrong and fattened by the silence that seemed to the three to have soaked into the very walls of the house...”
************************
*Angle of Repose 5 stars
*All the Little Live Things 5 stars
*Remembering Laughter 4 stars
*Crossing to Safety 4 stars
*The Spectator Bird 4 stars
*The Big Rock Candy Mountain 2 stars
*A Shooting Star 1 star
*Recapitulation TBR
*Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West TBR
This novella, published first in 1937, has gorgeous lines. It is beautifully written. The story told is tragic. It is plausible. It mirrors life.
At the death of two sisters’ father, the younger sister leaves Scotland and travels to her sister’s home in Iowa. Margaret, the elder, is twenty-nine and married to Alec, a farmer. They are doing well; they are prospering. This is not to say that all runs seamlessly; Alec is working hard but he does favor a drink or two. Elspeth, the younger is twenty-two. The sisters’ personalities differ. The story starts at the funeral of Alec and then flips back eighteen years when Elspeth arrives in Iowa. It moves forward, concluding where it had begun. How have the eighteen years shaped these two women? How has their relationship altered?
Cassandra Campbell narrates the audiobook very, very well. Four stars for the narration! She reads at a good pace and with appropriate intonations. She reads in such a manner that you do not pay attention to her but rather to the words of the story. You hear the beauty of the lines and sense the characters’ moods.
Do you value well written lines? Can you deal with life’s tragedies in a story? Do you prefer realism over fairy tales? If you have answered yes, yes and yes, then pick up this book.
I end with one quote from the book:
“...behind the united family front was the intangible shadow of estrangement, an atmosphere of loveless frigidity, nurtured by wrong and fattened by the silence that seemed to the three to have soaked into the very walls of the house...”
************************
*Angle of Repose 5 stars
*All the Little Live Things 5 stars
*Remembering Laughter 4 stars
*Crossing to Safety 4 stars
*The Spectator Bird 4 stars
*The Big Rock Candy Mountain 2 stars
*A Shooting Star 1 star
*Recapitulation TBR
*Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West TBR
November 26, 2022
Wallace Stegner’s debut novella, Remembering Laughter is a study in the misery people can bring upon themselves. It is a story of betrayal, misplaced passion, and a refusal of forgiveness. That any one of those traits can ruin a life is obvious, couple all three of them together and the damage is consuming.
The story is based on a story Wallace Stegner’s wife, Mary, had told him regarding two of her aunts. What gave it additional impact for me was that I was familiar with a very similar situation, that had a much different outcome than Stegner had imagined, but just as destructive.
As I suspected, Stegner burst upon the writing world fully formed. No one would suspect this is a debut. It has his signature style already–a style that is so perfectly unobtrusive that it is hardly sensed at all, but one that is as skillful as any you will ever find.
The story is based on a story Wallace Stegner’s wife, Mary, had told him regarding two of her aunts. What gave it additional impact for me was that I was familiar with a very similar situation, that had a much different outcome than Stegner had imagined, but just as destructive.
As I suspected, Stegner burst upon the writing world fully formed. No one would suspect this is a debut. It has his signature style already–a style that is so perfectly unobtrusive that it is hardly sensed at all, but one that is as skillful as any you will ever find.
August 15, 2016
This was Wallace Stegner's literary debut. He wrote it in 1936 for a novelette contest conducted by Little, Brown & Co and won the $2500 prize. Very short (150 pages), it shows his early talent. He was 27 years old at the time, and the rest is history. Out of print for many years, it was re-published by Penguin in 1996. It's a sad melodrama based on a story his wife told him about two of her Aunts in Iowa. Everybody has to start somewhere, even Pulitzer Prize winners.
February 13, 2011
This novelette is a brief and powerful illustration of the destructive power of marital infidelity and unforgiveness. The hurt and guilt run so deep that they dam the flow of communication, and laughter becomes only a memory. It's chastely told, as was the custom back when people were content to use their imaginations regarding matters of intimacy. The text is sorrowful yet beautiful, evoking scenes of Iowa farm life through the seasons. All the literary gifts we associate with Wallace Stegner are here in his first effort, awaiting depth and ripening through experience.
It fairly breaks my heart to return this little treasure to the library. They got it for me all the way from the University of Idaho through inter-library loan. It's a first edition cloth-bound jewel straight from 1937, with a spine so faded by sunlight that I can barely read the gold-stamped lettering. I can't stop stroking and sniffing the soft, aged pages. They have that wonderful smell of old paper well cared for, dry and almost acrid, but in a pleasant way. I must add this book to my personal collection, and I fear I've been spoiled. Nothing but a 1937 first edition will do. There's just something about a 74-year-old volume that connects me with my literary hero and the excitement he must have felt at having his first novel in print. (Now I really feel like Helene Hanff.)
It fairly breaks my heart to return this little treasure to the library. They got it for me all the way from the University of Idaho through inter-library loan. It's a first edition cloth-bound jewel straight from 1937, with a spine so faded by sunlight that I can barely read the gold-stamped lettering. I can't stop stroking and sniffing the soft, aged pages. They have that wonderful smell of old paper well cared for, dry and almost acrid, but in a pleasant way. I must add this book to my personal collection, and I fear I've been spoiled. Nothing but a 1937 first edition will do. There's just something about a 74-year-old volume that connects me with my literary hero and the excitement he must have felt at having his first novel in print. (Now I really feel like Helene Hanff.)
September 3, 2021
I enjoyed listening to this audible story by Wallace Stegner, the story that was his literary debut. It centers around a husband, Alec, and wife, Margaret, at the start, he is a successful farmer, and she is a happy in their marriage and their life. She is less of a fan of his occasional overindulgance in liquor.
When Margaret’s sister joins their household, she is filled with the joy of youth, and falls in love with everything about their farm. In turn, they are enchanted by her love and appreciation of their life on the farm. As time and the season passes, a friendship evolves into … more.
This was a wonderful story to listen to and enjoy, if for no other reason than it was the story that began his life as a published author, and to appreciate the simple beauty created, even in his debut.
November 29, 2017
When people speak of the work of Wallace Stegner, it is not this book to which they refer. They are more likely nodding toward Angle of Repose, which won the Pulitzer Prize. Or The Spectator Bird, which won the National Book Award. Or even the semi-autobiographical Crossing to Safety, the last of his published novels. However, this slip of a story, written in 1937 for submission in a competition, is where the Stegner canon starts and serves as the kindest of introductions to an esteemed and deservedly-honored lion of American literature.
In retrospect it seems so utterly predestined for me to have come across this volume at a local library sale during a rare visit with relatives in the Midwest. Stegner could not have planned it any better, nor wished for a more propitious frame of mind than mine under such circumstances. His tale of an Iowa farming couple who take in a coltish and naïve younger sister is just the sort of thing we discuss around our early afternoon table, as the plate of pastries is traded for crackers and cheese and the odd uncle or cousin speeds through on his halftime race to refuel. Tongues would cluck, as they often do when third (attractive) parties are inserted into the dynamic of a marriage. Sins predicted; retributions mused. This author's ground, in terms of my receptivity, had been more than adequately prepared.
What I was not prepared for, though, was the confidence of this voice. First novels (or novellas, as this could be considered) are generally either overwritten or fit-and-start affairs. The roads of expression are still under construction; the hand that writes and the mind that envisions are still in the process of making their acquaintance. Not so Mr. Stegner. There's an assurance here, a serene comprehension, a precision of intent, that flat-out portends greatness. Remembering Laughter is a solid, quiet little story about lapses in judgment and the legacies that ensue, told by a man with a grasp of humanity one imagines subsequent novels could do little to improve.
A fortunate choice on my part, no question.
In retrospect it seems so utterly predestined for me to have come across this volume at a local library sale during a rare visit with relatives in the Midwest. Stegner could not have planned it any better, nor wished for a more propitious frame of mind than mine under such circumstances. His tale of an Iowa farming couple who take in a coltish and naïve younger sister is just the sort of thing we discuss around our early afternoon table, as the plate of pastries is traded for crackers and cheese and the odd uncle or cousin speeds through on his halftime race to refuel. Tongues would cluck, as they often do when third (attractive) parties are inserted into the dynamic of a marriage. Sins predicted; retributions mused. This author's ground, in terms of my receptivity, had been more than adequately prepared.
What I was not prepared for, though, was the confidence of this voice. First novels (or novellas, as this could be considered) are generally either overwritten or fit-and-start affairs. The roads of expression are still under construction; the hand that writes and the mind that envisions are still in the process of making their acquaintance. Not so Mr. Stegner. There's an assurance here, a serene comprehension, a precision of intent, that flat-out portends greatness. Remembering Laughter is a solid, quiet little story about lapses in judgment and the legacies that ensue, told by a man with a grasp of humanity one imagines subsequent novels could do little to improve.
A fortunate choice on my part, no question.
August 6, 2014
I used Peter Senge’s “ask why five times” tool to get to the root cause of what goes wrong for the people in this novel.
Why is Margaret such a martyr? Why does her sister Elspeth choose the “self-immolation” of guilt that ruins her life? Why, in spite of a seemingly good relationship, has Alec never seen his wife naked? Why does he drink? Why do they all lack the courage to make things right, if not for themselves then for the boy? (Alec tries, but mouses around in secret.)
The answers all ring the same stern bell: Puritanism. The sin that is committed is severe, granted, but the response to it is evil. The wall of Puritanism is so high, so impenetrable, that even its bitter, vindictive architect can’t vault it.
On the eve of destruction, Margaret makes a promise to herself: “She could never forgive them…neither her jealousy nor her religion would allow that.”
Good old religion.
For 18 years, she keeps the promise. Instead of searching for redemption, she “hoards wrong” and searches for reasons to condemn. She has the power to contain in misery the two people who are trapped in her orbit, or release them through forgiveness. She chooses containment. It’s like turning the lock on a prison cell three times, once for herself.
And yet Stegner, in his brilliance, wins sympathy for Margaret. He stays by her side in preference to the others, making her the main protagonist. We hear her thoughts, witness her struggles, and we are appalled, first at what happens to her, then at her choices, and finally at what happens to her because of her choices.
Although this is Stegner’s first published novel, his powers are in full evidence. He introduces themes that he explores further in later novels, like the special hell that ensues from choosing the wrong partner in marriage, and how the life we lead marks our bodies. I keep replaying the portrayal of Margaret in the Prologue: her face “parchment over bone,” her “eyesockets sunk so deeply that they looked at first glance like the eyeless hollows of a skull,” and yet in her eyes “the life that had dried gradually out of her body…a sudden and violent blue, filmless and clear, and hard as ice. Her body was the body of a woman of sixty, her eyes those of a woman of thirty. Actually she was forty-seven.”
Loved this book and read it twice. Going for Stegner’s The Big Rock Candy Mountain next. Candy is right.
Why is Margaret such a martyr? Why does her sister Elspeth choose the “self-immolation” of guilt that ruins her life? Why, in spite of a seemingly good relationship, has Alec never seen his wife naked? Why does he drink? Why do they all lack the courage to make things right, if not for themselves then for the boy? (Alec tries, but mouses around in secret.)
The answers all ring the same stern bell: Puritanism. The sin that is committed is severe, granted, but the response to it is evil. The wall of Puritanism is so high, so impenetrable, that even its bitter, vindictive architect can’t vault it.
On the eve of destruction, Margaret makes a promise to herself: “She could never forgive them…neither her jealousy nor her religion would allow that.”
Good old religion.
For 18 years, she keeps the promise. Instead of searching for redemption, she “hoards wrong” and searches for reasons to condemn. She has the power to contain in misery the two people who are trapped in her orbit, or release them through forgiveness. She chooses containment. It’s like turning the lock on a prison cell three times, once for herself.
And yet Stegner, in his brilliance, wins sympathy for Margaret. He stays by her side in preference to the others, making her the main protagonist. We hear her thoughts, witness her struggles, and we are appalled, first at what happens to her, then at her choices, and finally at what happens to her because of her choices.
Although this is Stegner’s first published novel, his powers are in full evidence. He introduces themes that he explores further in later novels, like the special hell that ensues from choosing the wrong partner in marriage, and how the life we lead marks our bodies. I keep replaying the portrayal of Margaret in the Prologue: her face “parchment over bone,” her “eyesockets sunk so deeply that they looked at first glance like the eyeless hollows of a skull,” and yet in her eyes “the life that had dried gradually out of her body…a sudden and violent blue, filmless and clear, and hard as ice. Her body was the body of a woman of sixty, her eyes those of a woman of thirty. Actually she was forty-seven.”
Loved this book and read it twice. Going for Stegner’s The Big Rock Candy Mountain next. Candy is right.
December 16, 2023
A short read, beautifully and masterfully written. The audiobook version is just a bit longer than 3 hours, and it's included with the membership on audible.com.
Why haven't I ever before heard about Wallace Stegner? Thanks to the GR friend who was reading a novel of his recently, bringing this author to my attention (sorry, I forgot which of you this was).
Why haven't I ever before heard about Wallace Stegner? Thanks to the GR friend who was reading a novel of his recently, bringing this author to my attention (sorry, I forgot which of you this was).
October 20, 2021
3.5
This novella was Stegner's first published work.
It's about two sisters and a man. The elder, Margaret, is married to a charming farmer, Alec. They have a good life and are highly regarded in their farming community in Iowa. Margaret brings her sister, Elizabeth, to live with them.
Alec and Elizabeth become entangled and from that entanglement a baby boy results. Things are never the same between the sisters. They become dried husks of their former selves. The atmosphere is sombre.
Stegner's writing showed promise here and there, but the story is bleak and not that interesting, with some moralistic undertones.
I may have taken issue with Stegner saying that the two women of forty and forty-seven, respectively, were old. :-)
This novella was Stegner's first published work.
It's about two sisters and a man. The elder, Margaret, is married to a charming farmer, Alec. They have a good life and are highly regarded in their farming community in Iowa. Margaret brings her sister, Elizabeth, to live with them.
Alec and Elizabeth become entangled and from that entanglement a baby boy results. Things are never the same between the sisters. They become dried husks of their former selves. The atmosphere is sombre.
Stegner's writing showed promise here and there, but the story is bleak and not that interesting, with some moralistic undertones.
I may have taken issue with Stegner saying that the two women of forty and forty-seven, respectively, were old. :-)
January 20, 2019
Following a good night’s sleep and a few hours to ponder this novella, I have decided to change my rating from three to four stars.
When I had finished reading and considered the accolades which have been heaped upon this author over the years, the story seemed to me quite mediocre. By modern standards, I suppose, the plot would not raise any eyebrows. Two factors have influenced my judgment of the book.
First, as the afterword reveals, this was the first book-length fiction to be published by Stegner, at the very young age of 28 years. Second, the situation described by the story, while ordinary and acceptable in our time was, I would think, controversial in its time. It seems that, even as a very young man, Wallace Stegner was an author who was willing to take a risk for the sake of “telling it like it is”. For that reason, I believe he is an author to be celebrated.
When I had finished reading and considered the accolades which have been heaped upon this author over the years, the story seemed to me quite mediocre. By modern standards, I suppose, the plot would not raise any eyebrows. Two factors have influenced my judgment of the book.
First, as the afterword reveals, this was the first book-length fiction to be published by Stegner, at the very young age of 28 years. Second, the situation described by the story, while ordinary and acceptable in our time was, I would think, controversial in its time. It seems that, even as a very young man, Wallace Stegner was an author who was willing to take a risk for the sake of “telling it like it is”. For that reason, I believe he is an author to be celebrated.
April 27, 2022
This is Stegner’s first novel, actually a novella written in 1936 by Stegner, then an instructor at the University of Utah, to win a Prize from Little Brown and Company. Until then, Stegner had published only two short stories.
This is the tale of Scottish born Margaret and her husband Alec, a successful farmer in rural Iowa and the impact on their lives when her sister Elspeth arrives from Scotland to live with them. Stegner based the story on his wife’s remembrance of her two aunts who lived in western Iowa.
The story is simple, moving and elegantly and effectively described by Stegner. His descriptions and dialogue are as vivid and precise as in his later work.
The simplicity of the story is perfect for this novella, which can be read in less than 3 hours. When I finished, I sat and reflected how sad that certain personality traits can act as restraints to prevent our full enjoyment of life. If only. Such wistful thinking is what I get when reading Stegner and why he is a favorite author. A 4+ star read.
Please be sure to read the short afterward by Mary Stegner when finishing the novel
This is the tale of Scottish born Margaret and her husband Alec, a successful farmer in rural Iowa and the impact on their lives when her sister Elspeth arrives from Scotland to live with them. Stegner based the story on his wife’s remembrance of her two aunts who lived in western Iowa.
The story is simple, moving and elegantly and effectively described by Stegner. His descriptions and dialogue are as vivid and precise as in his later work.
The simplicity of the story is perfect for this novella, which can be read in less than 3 hours. When I finished, I sat and reflected how sad that certain personality traits can act as restraints to prevent our full enjoyment of life. If only. Such wistful thinking is what I get when reading Stegner and why he is a favorite author. A 4+ star read.
Please be sure to read the short afterward by Mary Stegner when finishing the novel
December 19, 2016
This was Stegner's first novel. He'd read about Little, Brown requesting submissions for a novella. He had previously published two short stories and he was very interested in the publisher request. Little, Brown was impressed enough to publish it, but I have not read how it was received by the public. What I understand about the moral compass of the 1930s makes me think it might not have been appreciated as much in the heartland as it deserved.
At one point in the novel I thought about the line in Elizabeth Strout's My Name Is Lucy Barton "You will have only one story," she had said. "You'll write your one story many ways. Don't ever worry about story. You have only one." This is only my third Stegner, but the story of infidelity may be his one story. I don't mind - he is telling it in many interesting ways.
The only reason I cannot give this 5 stars is because I feel I have to leave room for those books that will be truly stellar in my memory. I don't dispute this was good - very good - but it doesn't quite make the 5-star cut for me.
At one point in the novel I thought about the line in Elizabeth Strout's My Name Is Lucy Barton "You will have only one story," she had said. "You'll write your one story many ways. Don't ever worry about story. You have only one." This is only my third Stegner, but the story of infidelity may be his one story. I don't mind - he is telling it in many interesting ways.
The only reason I cannot give this 5 stars is because I feel I have to leave room for those books that will be truly stellar in my memory. I don't dispute this was good - very good - but it doesn't quite make the 5-star cut for me.
November 27, 2018
I grieved what their lives could have been, if only........ A tragic story filled with, "unspoken hoarded wrong" that infiltrates every fiber of the two women and affects the whole household. The only relief was from the relationship between man and boy, but even that could have been so much more. The writing is truly exquisite, and exquisitely felt by this reader.
December 8, 2021
3.5 stars
Remembering Laughter, Wallace Stegner’s first novel, portrays the devastating impact to a prosperous farming family in Iowa when two family members, in a moment of weakness, give into their impulses. The tame and respectable marriage of Alec and Margaret Stuart comes undone not long after the arrival of Margaret’s sister Elspeth, who finds herself falling under the sway of Alec, a passionate man who finds little passion in his marriage. After Margaret discovers what has developed between Alec and Elspeth, the novel takes a grim and forbidding turn.
Life goes on in the house, but all has changed. While the family maintains appearances, their daily lives are now beset with “the intangible shadow of estrangement, an atmosphere of loveless frigidity nurtured by wrong and fattened by silence that seemed to the three to have soaked into the very walls of the house, to have become a haunting presence that shouted soundlessly through the footsteps on the stairs or echoed in the slamming of the door.” Stegner’s words here point to his debt not only to Hawthorne but also to Faulkner, in his portrayal of a dark house beset by sin and suffering, sitting not in New England or the South but in the sunny fields of the Midwest.
While certainly not Stegner’s best work, Remembering Laughter nonetheless powerfully and precisely depicts the crushing power of repression and guilt to distort and maim, making it difficult for all but Alec to have any memory of a life filled with laughter.
Remembering Laughter, Wallace Stegner’s first novel, portrays the devastating impact to a prosperous farming family in Iowa when two family members, in a moment of weakness, give into their impulses. The tame and respectable marriage of Alec and Margaret Stuart comes undone not long after the arrival of Margaret’s sister Elspeth, who finds herself falling under the sway of Alec, a passionate man who finds little passion in his marriage. After Margaret discovers what has developed between Alec and Elspeth, the novel takes a grim and forbidding turn.
Life goes on in the house, but all has changed. While the family maintains appearances, their daily lives are now beset with “the intangible shadow of estrangement, an atmosphere of loveless frigidity nurtured by wrong and fattened by silence that seemed to the three to have soaked into the very walls of the house, to have become a haunting presence that shouted soundlessly through the footsteps on the stairs or echoed in the slamming of the door.” Stegner’s words here point to his debt not only to Hawthorne but also to Faulkner, in his portrayal of a dark house beset by sin and suffering, sitting not in New England or the South but in the sunny fields of the Midwest.
While certainly not Stegner’s best work, Remembering Laughter nonetheless powerfully and precisely depicts the crushing power of repression and guilt to distort and maim, making it difficult for all but Alec to have any memory of a life filled with laughter.
August 14, 2021
If there’s anyone who can put you right into the mood and setting, it’s certainly Wallace Stegner. This is a novella and a great intro to his style of writing.
It’s in fact his first published ‘book’ set in Iowa and briefly Chicago. It’s a sad, historical fictional piece that makes you want to weep and shake someone. It delivers in the way that it will stay with you a long time due to its strong writing, sad story, relationships, and emotions.
Here's the publisher's blurb:
Margaret Stuart, the proud wife of a prosperous Iowa farmer, sets high standards for herself and others. Happy in her marriage, she tries to look the other way when her genial husband, Alec, takes to the bottle. When Elspeth, Margaret's sister, comes to live with them, the young woman is immediately captivated by the beauty and vitality of the farm, and by the affection she receives from those around her. But as summer turns into fall, and the friendship between Alec and Elspeth deepens, Margaret finds her spirit tested by a series of events that seem as cruel and inevitable as the endless prairie winters.Long out of print, Remembering Laughter (1937) marked Wallace Stegner's brilliant literary debut.
It’s in fact his first published ‘book’ set in Iowa and briefly Chicago. It’s a sad, historical fictional piece that makes you want to weep and shake someone. It delivers in the way that it will stay with you a long time due to its strong writing, sad story, relationships, and emotions.
Here's the publisher's blurb:
Margaret Stuart, the proud wife of a prosperous Iowa farmer, sets high standards for herself and others. Happy in her marriage, she tries to look the other way when her genial husband, Alec, takes to the bottle. When Elspeth, Margaret's sister, comes to live with them, the young woman is immediately captivated by the beauty and vitality of the farm, and by the affection she receives from those around her. But as summer turns into fall, and the friendship between Alec and Elspeth deepens, Margaret finds her spirit tested by a series of events that seem as cruel and inevitable as the endless prairie winters.Long out of print, Remembering Laughter (1937) marked Wallace Stegner's brilliant literary debut.
June 9, 2016
My pick for our postal book group round 3.
I loved it. Writing, characters, uneven timeline (I love a nonlinear storyline!) and just the interest of a first book by a well known/loved author all added up to an excellent read for me. Even though it was very dark, I believe it was liked by the other 6 who share in my group.
I loved it. Writing, characters, uneven timeline (I love a nonlinear storyline!) and just the interest of a first book by a well known/loved author all added up to an excellent read for me. Even though it was very dark, I believe it was liked by the other 6 who share in my group.
October 18, 2023
WOW! Can Wallace Stegner write! This is the story of Margaret Stuart and her husband Alec who bring Margaret's sister, Elspeth, to live with them. She is with them for several months but Alec and Elspeth are attracted to each other and begin an affair that it is discovered by Margaret. Elspeth has become pregnant and this sets in motion the dismal existence each of them endured for the next eighteen years. This was Stegner's first novel and it demonstrated his extraordinary writing ability from the very start. It was a fascinating story but the writing is what makes this a five star book.
July 20, 2021
Remembering Laughter
by : Wallace Stegner
This short story was a giant of a story in my book! So rich in story development, characters built by a true genius, and the storyline as old as time, tugs at the heart the same today as yester-year!! 🤩🤩 I see 4 stars
by : Wallace Stegner
This short story was a giant of a story in my book! So rich in story development, characters built by a true genius, and the storyline as old as time, tugs at the heart the same today as yester-year!! 🤩🤩 I see 4 stars
June 4, 2024
A moving, taut novel. What they call "All killer-no filler". I go back and forth on Stegner but this is the first novel of his (and the first he wrote) where I'm able to see his project.
You get the impression that before Stegner the west was loud. In fiction, it was bully, daring deeds, and rolling thunder. Stegner stripped the west, the frontier, and the prarie of all the noise. Like an old man going up to the attic, he clears the clutter and ephemera. What remains is an intensity of focus. A drama in glances and the crosswords never said. The change that accumulates in the seasons' repeating revolutions.
You get the impression that before Stegner the west was loud. In fiction, it was bully, daring deeds, and rolling thunder. Stegner stripped the west, the frontier, and the prarie of all the noise. Like an old man going up to the attic, he clears the clutter and ephemera. What remains is an intensity of focus. A drama in glances and the crosswords never said. The change that accumulates in the seasons' repeating revolutions.
February 22, 2011
Boom! The electrical power snapped off. A transformer outside of our neighborhood had blown. We'd be awhile with no juice. So, by a lantern I read REMEMBERING LAUGHTER, my first Wallace Stegner title (his own debut). It was masterful and reminded me of Willa Cather with its agrarian Midwest setting and Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome in its themes of repressed emotions. Mr. Stegner, his widow recounts in this edition, wrote RL as a novella entered in a contest which he won. I'm going to try his later titles.
July 21, 2022
Wendell Berry called this a swift, assured novel. He also said he was intimidated by Stegner. At that point, Berry hadn't published his first novel yet. This was Stegner's first. Damn fine way to start.
The kind of introduction that makes you scratch your head. A freshman mile runner winning state kind of introduction. Except that freshman is a late-20s author who hasn't published much yet. You're doing more than scratching your head.
Stegner's nickname is "The Dean of Western Writers." You don't get that without work. It's a Tombstone-level nickname. Doc Holliday wishes he could be a dean. Most people don't know Cormac McCarthy's real name is Charlie. That makes McCarthy's nickname Cormac. Still not as smooth as Dean.
You don't get a fellowship at Stanford that housed both Larry McMurtry and Thom Gunn without writing chops. Look up a picture of Wally. You'll see that ocean of white hair. Quickly get swept in the tide of deep thought behind those glasses. Real glasses, the literary kind. Windows into reality.
Reading Stegner is to come up to those windows, admire the glass, then find one crack. Tap on it with your forefinger. Next thing you know, you're gone. Different world. Where you feel more than you've ever felt before. Where you know more than you've ever known before.
The kind of introduction that makes you scratch your head. A freshman mile runner winning state kind of introduction. Except that freshman is a late-20s author who hasn't published much yet. You're doing more than scratching your head.
Stegner's nickname is "The Dean of Western Writers." You don't get that without work. It's a Tombstone-level nickname. Doc Holliday wishes he could be a dean. Most people don't know Cormac McCarthy's real name is Charlie. That makes McCarthy's nickname Cormac. Still not as smooth as Dean.
You don't get a fellowship at Stanford that housed both Larry McMurtry and Thom Gunn without writing chops. Look up a picture of Wally. You'll see that ocean of white hair. Quickly get swept in the tide of deep thought behind those glasses. Real glasses, the literary kind. Windows into reality.
Reading Stegner is to come up to those windows, admire the glass, then find one crack. Tap on it with your forefinger. Next thing you know, you're gone. Different world. Where you feel more than you've ever felt before. Where you know more than you've ever known before.
March 29, 2021
Remembering Laughter was Wallace Stegner’s first book, a novella. He has such a relaxed feel to his writing, I’m captivated by it every time. There’s wonderful development of believable characters. It’s a sad story of a family whose choices are heart breaking, destroying a family unit. There’s nothing happy about this story, but I couldn’t give it any less than five stars. The writing is beautiful, and the emotions Stegner drew out of me were gut wrenching. Kudos to Bernadette Dunne for her narration!
January 3, 2013
Alec Stuart and his wife Margaret invited her younger sister Elspeth to live in their home in Iowa. Margaret was a very proper fashionable woman who got upset by her husband's drinking. Their prosperous farm was owned by Alec who loved to joke and tell stories. Elspeth was a lively young woman with a sense of fun. As the months wore on, the feelings between Alec and his wife's sister grew into a strong attraction. A chill decended upon their lives after this love triangle was discovered. It was heartbreaking for Margaret to be betrayed by the two people she loved the most--her husband and her sister.
This little novel was beautifully written. The author paints a wonderful picture of the Iowa farm and the woods. The quiet, unforgiveness, and repressed emotional states of the characters are expressed in spare language. This was Wallace Stegner's debut novel.
This little novel was beautifully written. The author paints a wonderful picture of the Iowa farm and the woods. The quiet, unforgiveness, and repressed emotional states of the characters are expressed in spare language. This was Wallace Stegner's debut novel.
August 30, 2017
This book had some very elegant prose and deftly created a mood befitting the sparseness and minimalism one might expect from the rural Iowa setting. However, I simply did not buy the basic plot, or, more precisely, the character development of the two sisters (which creates/enables the plot).
Obviously, I know such things happen in real life often enough; truth is stranger than fiction, after all. However, the author's specific portrayals of these two women seemed quite limited and even, strange as it may seem to say of fictional characters, mistaken -- a stereotypical male understanding of them. At least that's my personal, unhumble opinion.
Obviously, I know such things happen in real life often enough; truth is stranger than fiction, after all. However, the author's specific portrayals of these two women seemed quite limited and even, strange as it may seem to say of fictional characters, mistaken -- a stereotypical male understanding of them. At least that's my personal, unhumble opinion.
October 27, 2008
This is a very sad tale of Iowa, in which Alec and Margaret Stuart welcome Margaret’s 22-year-old sister, Elspeth to their farm. Margaret is a proper, conservative soul. Alec is much more lively, humorous, earthy, but is also more driven by his impulses. Alec and Elspeth do the nasty, which produces a child. All goes to hell and the sisters wind up living lives of withered desperation. Not a happy tale, but one that is beautifully told.
August 3, 2016
Remembering Laughter was Wallace Stegner's first book in 1937. It was long out of print until the 90s. It's a fine novel that reminds me a bit of Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome.
Margaret and Alec Stuart are a married couple in Iowa. He's a prosperous farmer. She looks the other way as Alec starts drinking. Margaret's sister Elspeth visits. Margaret tries to play matchmaker, but Alec finds her attractive. And so on.
Margaret and Alec Stuart are a married couple in Iowa. He's a prosperous farmer. She looks the other way as Alec starts drinking. Margaret's sister Elspeth visits. Margaret tries to play matchmaker, but Alec finds her attractive. And so on.
August 11, 2024
A fascinating study of sisters, betrayal, silence, and living with the suppression of truth. An older sister married to a prosperous farmer sponsors her younger sister’s immigration from Ireland. Her husband has an affair with the younger woman, who becomes pregnant. The three adults and the child born of the illicit affair live grimly and uneasily for years under the same roof without ever acknowledging what has occurred. I found the novel quietly gripping.
September 23, 2017
I maintain after this, the fourth Stegner book I've read, that he was one of the greatest American writers ever. This was his first novel, and very good.
March 5, 2020
My first thought after reading this was that it was some seriously depressing familial melodrama, but still a fine novella. After reading the postscript by Stegner's wife, I respected it a little bit more. He didn't just invent a little story, but won a short fiction contest with this story as a young professor of English at the University of Utah and the story itself was based an a family rumor-story of two spinster sisters raising a boy on a farm and nobody was quite sure which one was the boy's mother. There is something more respectable about inventing a narrative of a family legend than just inventing a fiction. Or maybe it's just me.
November 9, 2025
In einem Secondhand Bookshop in Fremantle, Perth entdeckt, war das Buch mit seinen knapp 160 Seiten eine wunderbare Reiselektüre.
Rasch war ich in der Geschichte von Margaret, ihrem Ehemann Alec und ihrer Schwester Elspeth. Elspeth ist zu Besuch bei Margaret und Alec. Ziemlich bald wird das Leben unter demselben Dach aber problematisch... viel mehr darf ich ohne zu spoilern kaum sagen.
Ein durchaus gelungenes Debut von Wallace Stegner, welches 1937 auch unter über 1'200 eingereichten Kurzgeschichten einen Preis von Little, Brown & Co gewann.
Rasch war ich in der Geschichte von Margaret, ihrem Ehemann Alec und ihrer Schwester Elspeth. Elspeth ist zu Besuch bei Margaret und Alec. Ziemlich bald wird das Leben unter demselben Dach aber problematisch... viel mehr darf ich ohne zu spoilern kaum sagen.
Ein durchaus gelungenes Debut von Wallace Stegner, welches 1937 auch unter über 1'200 eingereichten Kurzgeschichten einen Preis von Little, Brown & Co gewann.
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