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قصههای بابام
چاپ ۱۳۶۴
205 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1943
68 people are currently reading
598 people want to read
About the author
Erskine Caldwell
332 books220 followersErskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South won him critical acclaim, but they also made him controversial among fellow Southerners of the time who felt he was holding the region up to ridicule.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
June 8, 2020
بیستم آذر بود بعد از سال ها آرزو به خانه ی احمد شاملو رفتیم.من و دوستم.آیدای باوقار پر از آرامش بود و آه.در کنارش نشستیم.با صمیمتی عجیب هم صحبت ما شد.درد و دل میکردیم و او هم با دقتی عجیب گوش میکرد.وسواسی که نسبت به آثار شاملو داشت و حساسیتش به درست ادا شدن تک تک کلمات اشعارش برایم عجیب بود.تیزبینی از بانویی به سن و سال او.خودش میگفت بعد از احمد به خاطر دین اش به آثار او زنده مانده است..مدام از من با علاقه ای عجیب راجع به آثاری که از شاملو خوانده ام میپرسید.راجع به تک تک جمله های شاملو علاقه ای سرشار از خودش نشان میداد.
از آیدا پرسیدم که چه کتاب های دیگری را پیشنهاد میکند که از استاد بخوانم و گفت شما هنوز خیلی جوانید و تازه زندگی و چیزهایی که باید بخوانید شروع شده ولی مرگ گاو باز و قصه های بابام را بخوان.میگفت ما از تهران تا کرج نوار های لورکا را گوش میکردیم و هرچه بیشتر گوش میکردیم داغان تر میشدیم و میگفت هر لذتی بهایی دارد گاهی بهای سنگینی میپردازیم
و چهره اش پر از غم شد.از درد سانسور میگفت.
هرچه از تاثیرش بر آثار شاملو حرف زدم و تحسین اش کردم سرش را به مخالفت تکان داد و گفت من کاری نکرده ام.هرچه بوده هنر خود احمد بوده است.
از کتاب قصه های بابام گفت و گفت بسیار رندانه نوشته شده.
آیدا بانویی است که تنهایی اش را با غذا دادن به گربه های بی پناه دهکده که خانه اش را از بر بودند پر میکرد و چشمهایش برای کامل کردن کتاب های کوچه کم سو میشوند.
باران عجیبی گرفت.
از آیدا خداحافظی کردیم و نگاهش و رفتارش همچنان در قلب من نقش بسته.
حس غم عجیبی به من دست میدهد هر بار که به آیدا فکر میکنم.به تنهاییش.به دردهایی که کشیده.آیدا میگفت شعر کیستی که من این گونه به اعتماد را احمد برایم نوشته و من هم برای احمد خوانده ام.چه قدر این عشق زییا و دلگیر است.
ده روز بعد شب یلدا بود.دوستم با کتابی به دیدنم آمد.قصه های بابام را برایم خریده بود.
هر قصه اش را که میخواندم هر شبم را به یلدایی دوباره تبدیل میکردم و حس گنگی از سرخوشی خواندن قصه های کودکانه،دلگیری،نگاه عمیق آیدا،مرگ شاملو و بی رحمی روزگار به من چیره میشد.
تازه بعدا فهمیدم که دوستم که علت دوست شدنم باهاش همین احمد شاملو بوده در دوران کودکیش این کتاب را
خوانده و الان هم برای برادرزاده اش میخواند.این دنیای عجیب دلگیر
از آیدا پرسیدم که چه کتاب های دیگری را پیشنهاد میکند که از استاد بخوانم و گفت شما هنوز خیلی جوانید و تازه زندگی و چیزهایی که باید بخوانید شروع شده ولی مرگ گاو باز و قصه های بابام را بخوان.میگفت ما از تهران تا کرج نوار های لورکا را گوش میکردیم و هرچه بیشتر گوش میکردیم داغان تر میشدیم و میگفت هر لذتی بهایی دارد گاهی بهای سنگینی میپردازیم
و چهره اش پر از غم شد.از درد سانسور میگفت.
هرچه از تاثیرش بر آثار شاملو حرف زدم و تحسین اش کردم سرش را به مخالفت تکان داد و گفت من کاری نکرده ام.هرچه بوده هنر خود احمد بوده است.
از کتاب قصه های بابام گفت و گفت بسیار رندانه نوشته شده.
آیدا بانویی است که تنهایی اش را با غذا دادن به گربه های بی پناه دهکده که خانه اش را از بر بودند پر میکرد و چشمهایش برای کامل کردن کتاب های کوچه کم سو میشوند.
باران عجیبی گرفت.
از آیدا خداحافظی کردیم و نگاهش و رفتارش همچنان در قلب من نقش بسته.
حس غم عجیبی به من دست میدهد هر بار که به آیدا فکر میکنم.به تنهاییش.به دردهایی که کشیده.آیدا میگفت شعر کیستی که من این گونه به اعتماد را احمد برایم نوشته و من هم برای احمد خوانده ام.چه قدر این عشق زییا و دلگیر است.
ده روز بعد شب یلدا بود.دوستم با کتابی به دیدنم آمد.قصه های بابام را برایم خریده بود.
هر قصه اش را که میخواندم هر شبم را به یلدایی دوباره تبدیل میکردم و حس گنگی از سرخوشی خواندن قصه های کودکانه،دلگیری،نگاه عمیق آیدا،مرگ شاملو و بی رحمی روزگار به من چیره میشد.
تازه بعدا فهمیدم که دوستم که علت دوست شدنم باهاش همین احمد شاملو بوده در دوران کودکیش این کتاب را
خوانده و الان هم برای برادرزاده اش میخواند.این دنیای عجیب دلگیر
September 20, 2022
چطور میشه به چنین داستانهای تلخی خندید؟ واقعا هنر بزرگیه این مسائل رو اینطور با طنز مطرح کردن. وقتی برمیگردی و به داستان نکاه میکنی چنان دغدغههای نژادی و اجتماعیای درش تنیده شده که تعجب میکنی چطور اینقدر ساده و روون نوشته شدن. من تجربههای ناموفق زیادی از تلاش برای خوندن ترجمههای شاملو داشتم. این تنها کتابیه که تموم کردم و البته ناراضی هم نیستم، لحن و زبانی که بزرگوار انتخاب کرده اینجا کاملا به فضا میخوره.
لینک طاقچه
لینک طاقچه
April 18, 2019
خوب، سرگرمکننده، جالب.
January 25, 2021
این کتاب جدای از محتوا و داستانک های پیوستش،بنظرم تلاشی دیگر بوده از آقای شاملو برای زنده کردن و زنده نگاهداشتن زبان کوچه بازاری.
Read
September 12, 2025پسره یه بابای الواتِ بیکارهای داره که همش داره خرابکاری میکنه و صدای مادره رو درمیاره. ولی به نظر پسره باباهه هست که آدم باحالیه و مادره غرغرو و مایه دردسره. بیا و بچه بزرگ کن...!۰
April 26, 2022
Que buen libro, espectacular autor.
Video reseña completa en:
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September 2, 2018
بسیار جالب بود.
بالأخص دو داستان آخر.
خیلی جاها، بیان بی ادبانه و طاغی اش مرا بشدت یاد ماجراهای هکلبری فین می انداخت.
دیدن پسر شرّ و شیطان، پدر لاابالی، مادر همیشه عصبانی و بردۀ فرصت طلب که *صرفا* خواهان آزادیست؛ مجموعه ای به مخاطب میدهد که در بدترین شرایط ارزش امتحان کردن و همراه شدنش را دارد.
بالأخص دو داستان آخر.
خیلی جاها، بیان بی ادبانه و طاغی اش مرا بشدت یاد ماجراهای هکلبری فین می انداخت.
دیدن پسر شرّ و شیطان، پدر لاابالی، مادر همیشه عصبانی و بردۀ فرصت طلب که *صرفا* خواهان آزادیست؛ مجموعه ای به مخاطب میدهد که در بدترین شرایط ارزش امتحان کردن و همراه شدنش را دارد.
May 30, 2016
Ah...well, this kind of reads like a "G" rated version of some of Caldwell's more popular works, namely God's Little Acre, Tobacco Road, and my personal favorite so far, Estherville.
A collection of tales featuring the poor Southern Stroup family: Morris Stroup the patriarch - a philandering, unemployed simpleton always out to make money with some convoluted scheme, and whose failures are repeatedly blamed on Handsome (the "boy" who "works" for them), the bitter, though ridiculously complacent matriarch, Martha Stroup, and William, their son who is the innocent idiot-in-training and narrator of their escapades.
As you might imagine with a child narrator, there is a lot going on the reader understands that the narrator does not. Still, rather than coming off as a biting commentary on poverty and prejudice in the South (like in the other books mentioned), I kept feeling like this was an edgier and less politically correct equivalent of Gomer Pile and the gang from Mayberry, or a nastier/darker Southern version of Dagwood and Blondie. In that sense, it felt less like rebuke and more like entertainment.
So, not quite what I expected from the previous works I've read and that I've really enjoyed. However, I can see how this might have had appeal at the time it was written.
Who would I recommend this to today? probably fans of Caldwell's work who are interested in exploring his writing across the board and/or those who wanted to like his other work but just couldn't get past the rawness of it.
A collection of tales featuring the poor Southern Stroup family: Morris Stroup the patriarch - a philandering, unemployed simpleton always out to make money with some convoluted scheme, and whose failures are repeatedly blamed on Handsome (the "boy" who "works" for them), the bitter, though ridiculously complacent matriarch, Martha Stroup, and William, their son who is the innocent idiot-in-training and narrator of their escapades.
As you might imagine with a child narrator, there is a lot going on the reader understands that the narrator does not. Still, rather than coming off as a biting commentary on poverty and prejudice in the South (like in the other books mentioned), I kept feeling like this was an edgier and less politically correct equivalent of Gomer Pile and the gang from Mayberry, or a nastier/darker Southern version of Dagwood and Blondie. In that sense, it felt less like rebuke and more like entertainment.
So, not quite what I expected from the previous works I've read and that I've really enjoyed. However, I can see how this might have had appeal at the time it was written.
Who would I recommend this to today? probably fans of Caldwell's work who are interested in exploring his writing across the board and/or those who wanted to like his other work but just couldn't get past the rawness of it.
September 21, 2021
به خاطر مترجم شروع به خوندن کردم ولی واقعیتش زیاد جالب نبود
به عنوان داستان کودک برای بچه قابل درک نیست و برای بزرگسال یکم بیمزست .طنزش بیشتر اعصاب خورد کنه تا خنده دار .
نشون دهنده یه خانواده تیپیکال آمریکاییه .پدر بیعرضه ،مادر بی اعصاب و یه بچه وابسته به پدر و برای تکمیل شدن همه اینا یه برده که ظاهرا آزاده ولی نیست .
داستان آخری رو دوست داشتم و نسبت به بقیه داستاناش قوی تر بود .
به عنوان داستان کودک برای بچه قابل درک نیست و برای بزرگسال یکم بیمزست .طنزش بیشتر اعصاب خورد کنه تا خنده دار .
نشون دهنده یه خانواده تیپیکال آمریکاییه .پدر بیعرضه ،مادر بی اعصاب و یه بچه وابسته به پدر و برای تکمیل شدن همه اینا یه برده که ظاهرا آزاده ولی نیست .
داستان آخری رو دوست داشتم و نسبت به بقیه داستاناش قوی تر بود .
October 13, 2016
من در میان آثار کالدول، به مجموعه ای با این نام؛ "قصه های بابام" برنخورده ام. کالدول چندین مجموعه داستان کوتاه دارد که این مجموعه به فارسی، احتمالن گزیده ای از مجموعه ها، به سلیقه ی مترجم بوده است.
November 23, 2018
Os Stroup vivem num ambiente rural pobre, numa velha casa de madeira construída a mais de um metro do chão, em Sycamore, Geórgia. O sonho americano ruiu dando lugar à desilusão e ao desespero. Martha trabalha sem descanso e Morris alterna a apatia e a preguiça com expedientes inaceitáveis. Handsome, o ajudante negro, trabalha sem direito a folgas e salário.
O narrador dos catorze contos que fazem parte desta obra é o jovem William , cujos doze anos de idade embebidos em ingenuidade e imaturidade não lhe permitem entender a brutalidade da realidade e dos acontecimentos à sua volta. O cómico emerge então, misturando-se com racismo, traições, machismo, esquemas e escaramuças ...
O narrador dos catorze contos que fazem parte desta obra é o jovem William , cujos doze anos de idade embebidos em ingenuidade e imaturidade não lhe permitem entender a brutalidade da realidade e dos acontecimentos à sua volta. O cómico emerge então, misturando-se com racismo, traições, machismo, esquemas e escaramuças ...
February 6, 2014
دلم میخواست همشون رو با هم بکشم.
November 10, 2017
ازون طنز هایی بود که اعصاب آدم هم خورد می شه. خیلی سخت می تونم به حماقت مردم بخندم
March 10, 2016
چرا اینقدر داستان های کودکانه یا غیر کودکانه درباره ی پدرها و پسرانشان وجود دارد؟
در حالیکه حرفی از قصه های مادران با فرزندان یا پدران با دخترانشان نیست.
در حالیکه حرفی از قصه های مادران با فرزندان یا پدران با دخترانشان نیست.
January 17, 2024
کتاب رو صوتی گوش دادم
خلاصه اش میشه راههای عجیب پدر برای پول در آوردن که همش به شکست میخوره و خرابکاری میکنه.
هوس بازی پدر که هر زنی رو میبینه انگار نه انگار زن داره.
و اذیت کردن های مسخره و بدجنسانه خدمتکار سیاه پوستشون
دوستش نداشتم اصلا
خلاصه اش میشه راههای عجیب پدر برای پول در آوردن که همش به شکست میخوره و خرابکاری میکنه.
هوس بازی پدر که هر زنی رو میبینه انگار نه انگار زن داره.
و اذیت کردن های مسخره و بدجنسانه خدمتکار سیاه پوستشون
دوستش نداشتم اصلا
January 11, 2016
Un Caldwell che ha saputo conquistarmi fin dalle prime pagine, grazie ad un incipit travolgente in cui Stroup, armato della sua macchina per pressare la carta, imperversa pressando tutto ciò che trova per casa, comprese riviste, libri, lettere della moglie, per farne blocchi da rivendere. Gli episodi successivi non sono da meno e ritroviamo un autore in grande spolvero nel ritrarre, con la sua tipica vena grottesca, quell'ambiente del sud degli Stati Uniti che è l'oggetto principale della sua narrativa.
May 31, 2012
I liked this book, but it wasn't as good as some of his other work. The characters weren't as developed as they were in Tobacco Road or God's Little Acre. It's still a great read, though. I would definitely recommend.
February 5, 2015
Pretty much "Caldwell Lite." Not as good as his books, but not bad.
July 16, 2019
سرگرم کننده
July 8, 2021
بسیار خندهدار و سرگرمکننده
November 23, 2013
It could be read like a book for children. Nevertheless, the intensity of the book grows from story to story. It could be said that the loafing,cheating and lying that Ma endures it's only due to Morris Stroup's sexual prowess. She's willing to do the washing of other people's clothing to support the family and I've noticed that women only do that when they got a stud at home.
The incident with the Gypsy Queen is not clear to me. After they got inside the shed and locked the door the gypsy woman came out with his clothes and gave a long stare at Ma. Then Pa came with a gold watch and is later discovered by William with a big wad of green backs. Was it just Pa's ability with a sleight of hand while humping the gypsy or the latter gave him that big roll of dollars in recompense for the banging she got?
The story with the strange girl with the ties was probably my favorite one since it provides a lesson for such encounters and the nature of that type of girls is one that has always attracted me.
Handsome Brown and his treatment by the Stroup family is quite ambiguous. Although Ma is always complaining about Pa's intentions to get him involved in his shady businessess and is trying to protect him, she never allows him to seat at the same table to eat with them and never gives him a respite from the daily chores. Morris Stroup's treatment to Handsome is definitely racist not to the degree of verbal abuse as shown by his convict brother Ned, but he uses him almost as a slave as it's clear in "Handsome Brown's Day Off".
The story where he runs away and ends up working as a living target at a carnival made me laugh out loud. I know it's racist stuff but I could picture Pa winding his arm like those old times pitchers and throwing the baseball at the darkey face.
The Birger Lundquist's illustrations that come in my 1950 Signet edition are great. As for making amends with the previous comment, the illustration of Handsome Brown in the story "The Day at Aunt Bessie's" while looking in dismay at the rubber boots is exactly the face of a Cuban girlfriend I had twenty years ago. No offense intended.
The last story although slightly predictable wrenched my heart. I never liked the useless killing of animals to teach a lesson and what a lesson was taught to Morris Stroup. He surely paid in his most noble feelings for all his trespasses. Ma didn't show the same capacity for loving animals as with Pretty Sooky. I've had in my family this same callousness in women that are ignorant and beastly at least once in their lives.
The incident with the Gypsy Queen is not clear to me. After they got inside the shed and locked the door the gypsy woman came out with his clothes and gave a long stare at Ma. Then Pa came with a gold watch and is later discovered by William with a big wad of green backs. Was it just Pa's ability with a sleight of hand while humping the gypsy or the latter gave him that big roll of dollars in recompense for the banging she got?
The story with the strange girl with the ties was probably my favorite one since it provides a lesson for such encounters and the nature of that type of girls is one that has always attracted me.
Handsome Brown and his treatment by the Stroup family is quite ambiguous. Although Ma is always complaining about Pa's intentions to get him involved in his shady businessess and is trying to protect him, she never allows him to seat at the same table to eat with them and never gives him a respite from the daily chores. Morris Stroup's treatment to Handsome is definitely racist not to the degree of verbal abuse as shown by his convict brother Ned, but he uses him almost as a slave as it's clear in "Handsome Brown's Day Off".
The story where he runs away and ends up working as a living target at a carnival made me laugh out loud. I know it's racist stuff but I could picture Pa winding his arm like those old times pitchers and throwing the baseball at the darkey face.
The Birger Lundquist's illustrations that come in my 1950 Signet edition are great. As for making amends with the previous comment, the illustration of Handsome Brown in the story "The Day at Aunt Bessie's" while looking in dismay at the rubber boots is exactly the face of a Cuban girlfriend I had twenty years ago. No offense intended.
The last story although slightly predictable wrenched my heart. I never liked the useless killing of animals to teach a lesson and what a lesson was taught to Morris Stroup. He surely paid in his most noble feelings for all his trespasses. Ma didn't show the same capacity for loving animals as with Pretty Sooky. I've had in my family this same callousness in women that are ignorant and beastly at least once in their lives.
July 18, 2015
این کتاب فوق العاده س . محشره
February 19, 2025
Review Number One: Blunder-Mifflin, The (Branch) Office
This book has two major flaws.
1. It's a Comedy
2. It's a My-Kooky-Family comedy
1.
The problem with #1 is that a book that TRIES to be funny, even in its conception, can't be funny 100% of the time. This is a far bigger problem with TV and movies. NOTHING can be funny for 30 minutes for 20 weeks in a row, or 90 minutes all at once. For the sake of argument, let's say it IS funny 75% of the time. That leaves 25% unattended to and how it gets filled is invariably predictable, boring, and actually stupid -- like sports talk and Foodie incantations in ordinary conversation. You can almost see the author putting sawdust in the crankcase. And this -- like someone else's toothbrush -- is something I don't wanna see.
Comedy in Entertainment should be a by-product. This way it's enhanced by being unexpected and it's more likely to get an actual LAUGH out of people. And unless you actually LAUGH, it's not really funny. It doesn't have to be drawn-out laughter, but it has to be more than just a "hah!".
2.
Maybe there was a time when the My Kooky Family theme was funny. Maybe the Shakespeare/Bible Bores will tell me it's been with us forever and is a hallowed tradition that must be laughed at for the sake of our Western Civilization. I don't know. I don't care. If it ever WAS funny, it isn't funny anymore.
At least I learned ONE thing from this book: The My Kooky Family Recipe for Guaranteed Zany Hijinks Comedy wasn't invented by Hollywood Chiselers and done to death on TV in its various forms: My Kooky Kolleagues, My Kooky Room-mates, My Kooky Fellow-POWs, My Kooky Fellow Pacifist Korean-War-Medics, My Kooky Kurbed Enthusiasm, My Kooky Gay (but super-smart and not at all fuck-ups) Friends, &c., &c. This book is proof it's at least a few years older than TV.
Frankly, I had thought "My Kooky" could not have existed back when you kept it to yourself if you were insane -- otherwise you found yourself on the Spinning Bed or in the Revolving Cage, not being praised for Marching to a Different Drummer.
Some of you will say, "Ahhh, my dear boy, but it isn't a comedy at all. It's a wry commentary on ...." And other bullshitters will call it "Darkly Comic" hoping it will make them sound smart. But I know how you Book Scientists work: you do like the Preachers do. When you're caught out, you say it's a metaphor, otherwise it's a litaphor "Of course! There it is in black-and-white! It wouldn't be there if he didn't mean it." A never-ending game of "What number am I thinking of?" (Book Scientists really are down there in the Fraud World of Hollywood Chiselers, Climate-, and Virus-Scientists.) Read it. Then tell me he wasn't trying to be funny from start to finish. If you do tell me that, you're a liar.
And finally there's the we-mere-mortals defense: "Ahh, but who's to decide if something is funny or not?"
The answer to that one is simple. It's ME. I decide. So far I've been right Every. Single. Time. at figuring out if something is funny or not. That's an unbroken record, so you'd best take my word for it.
Review Number Two: Pretty Good
I liked it plenty. Read it in one sitting. The very last story was the ONLY one that wasn't 100% predictable, but it was 99% predictable. Still, it was good.
I've only read Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre, Journeyman, Estherville, and Trouble on Julyteenth by this guy and they gave me the impression he was better than this, that he wouldn't stoop to My Kooky Family. Now I'm not so sure I wanna try any more of his books. I sure as hell don't wanna stumble on another Comedy.
This book has two major flaws.
1. It's a Comedy
2. It's a My-Kooky-Family comedy
1.
The problem with #1 is that a book that TRIES to be funny, even in its conception, can't be funny 100% of the time. This is a far bigger problem with TV and movies. NOTHING can be funny for 30 minutes for 20 weeks in a row, or 90 minutes all at once. For the sake of argument, let's say it IS funny 75% of the time. That leaves 25% unattended to and how it gets filled is invariably predictable, boring, and actually stupid -- like sports talk and Foodie incantations in ordinary conversation. You can almost see the author putting sawdust in the crankcase. And this -- like someone else's toothbrush -- is something I don't wanna see.
Comedy in Entertainment should be a by-product. This way it's enhanced by being unexpected and it's more likely to get an actual LAUGH out of people. And unless you actually LAUGH, it's not really funny. It doesn't have to be drawn-out laughter, but it has to be more than just a "hah!".
2.
Maybe there was a time when the My Kooky Family theme was funny. Maybe the Shakespeare/Bible Bores will tell me it's been with us forever and is a hallowed tradition that must be laughed at for the sake of our Western Civilization. I don't know. I don't care. If it ever WAS funny, it isn't funny anymore.
At least I learned ONE thing from this book: The My Kooky Family Recipe for Guaranteed Zany Hijinks Comedy wasn't invented by Hollywood Chiselers and done to death on TV in its various forms: My Kooky Kolleagues, My Kooky Room-mates, My Kooky Fellow-POWs, My Kooky Fellow Pacifist Korean-War-Medics, My Kooky Kurbed Enthusiasm, My Kooky Gay (but super-smart and not at all fuck-ups) Friends, &c., &c. This book is proof it's at least a few years older than TV.
Frankly, I had thought "My Kooky" could not have existed back when you kept it to yourself if you were insane -- otherwise you found yourself on the Spinning Bed or in the Revolving Cage, not being praised for Marching to a Different Drummer.
Some of you will say, "Ahhh, my dear boy, but it isn't a comedy at all. It's a wry commentary on ...." And other bullshitters will call it "Darkly Comic" hoping it will make them sound smart. But I know how you Book Scientists work: you do like the Preachers do. When you're caught out, you say it's a metaphor, otherwise it's a litaphor "Of course! There it is in black-and-white! It wouldn't be there if he didn't mean it." A never-ending game of "What number am I thinking of?" (Book Scientists really are down there in the Fraud World of Hollywood Chiselers, Climate-, and Virus-Scientists.) Read it. Then tell me he wasn't trying to be funny from start to finish. If you do tell me that, you're a liar.
And finally there's the we-mere-mortals defense: "Ahh, but who's to decide if something is funny or not?"
The answer to that one is simple. It's ME. I decide. So far I've been right Every. Single. Time. at figuring out if something is funny or not. That's an unbroken record, so you'd best take my word for it.
Review Number Two: Pretty Good
I liked it plenty. Read it in one sitting. The very last story was the ONLY one that wasn't 100% predictable, but it was 99% predictable. Still, it was good.
I've only read Tobacco Road, God's Little Acre, Journeyman, Estherville, and Trouble on Julyteenth by this guy and they gave me the impression he was better than this, that he wouldn't stoop to My Kooky Family. Now I'm not so sure I wanna try any more of his books. I sure as hell don't wanna stumble on another Comedy.
November 23, 2020
Jest to zbiór opowiadań z życia rodziny Stroupów. Narratorem jest kilkuletni Will, który mieszka na farmie z matką Martą i ojcem Morrisem oraz z Murzynem o imieniu Przystojniak Brown, który pomaga im w gospodarstwie. Głównym bohaterem jest ojciec chłopca, zwany "starym", będący skończonym leserem i próżniakiem. Nie ma stałego zajęcia, najchętniej wyleguje się w cieniu albo łowi ryby. Większą aktywność przejawia tylko wtedy, gdy zwietrzy możliwość szybkiego i łatwego zarobku, jak np. przy pomyśle na sprzedaż makulatury ("Maszyna do belowania"), złomu ("Wychodne Przystojniaka Browna"), ewentualnie handlu wymiennym ("Mój stary i królowa Cyganów"). Zawsze jednak jego wręcz dziecięca naiwność, czy po prostu głupota sprawiają, że z zarobku nic nie wychodzi.
Całe gospodarstwo utrzymuje się tylko dzięki matce chłopca, która haruje robiąc pranie dla sąsiadek z miasteczka. Ona też ratuje rodzinę z opresji, gdy Morris wdaje się w drobne kradzieże, czy przygody z alkoholem i kobietami.
Perypetie ojca z perspektywy dziecka są zabawne i Moris Stroup jawi się mimo wszystko jako postać sympatyczna, chociaż czasem okrutna, szczególnie w traktowaniu Przystojniaka Browna. Ten ostatni też dodaje humoru (np. "Przystojniak Brown i dzięcioły").
Całe gospodarstwo utrzymuje się tylko dzięki matce chłopca, która haruje robiąc pranie dla sąsiadek z miasteczka. Ona też ratuje rodzinę z opresji, gdy Morris wdaje się w drobne kradzieże, czy przygody z alkoholem i kobietami.
Perypetie ojca z perspektywy dziecka są zabawne i Moris Stroup jawi się mimo wszystko jako postać sympatyczna, chociaż czasem okrutna, szczególnie w traktowaniu Przystojniaka Browna. Ten ostatni też dodaje humoru (np. "Przystojniak Brown i dzięcioły").
April 10, 2025
The father of the year.
October 24, 2021
At least 3.5 stars.
Though slight, this is an entertaining book. Unlike many, I don't think of it as a novel, but a collection of short stories, generally involving the same characters - Morris Stroud, his wife Martha, and their son William. Also on hand is their black employee, Handsome Brown.
The stories are narrated by son William without much comment and they portray the regular, if not daily, hare-brained schemes that Morris Stroud comes up with in the effort to make a quick buck. Or even a sum of money smaller than that. Morris is not a totally likeable man, he's lazy, an adulterer, and he takes advantage of his employee Handsome whom he treats rather badly. Yet he manages to be an amusing character as well, as we witness his attempts to make good financially result in inevitable failure, he doesn't seem to realize that destroying or stealing people's assets/property is not a good way to strive for success. Morris (Pa) is lazy, not likely to have steady work or a regular wage. What did the long-suffering wife Martha (Ma) see in him in the first place, why marry him? I guess we'll never know, and neither will she.
The stories are quick, easy reads and the book can be read in a day or two. As expected, they are a product of their time. Handsome is a subservient, obedient employee of the "Yes Master " stereotype, and lets the no-good Morris treat him badly and does all his dirty work for him.
But this is the South of a bygone era, the book was published in 1943 and was set in some time frame even before that. Only a fool would expect political correctness in a book like this.
Thankfully the book is reasonably short, otherwise the continuous theme of the stories - worthless Pa and angry, frustrated Ma - would get a bit too repetitive and samey after a while.
I've read a lot of Caldwell's books over the years and enjoyed them all. GEORGIA BOY isn't one of his very best, but it's still good. The subjects of poverty and racism are there, but presented in a less grim, less serious way than in some of his other works. Worth a read if you can find a copy.
Though slight, this is an entertaining book. Unlike many, I don't think of it as a novel, but a collection of short stories, generally involving the same characters - Morris Stroud, his wife Martha, and their son William. Also on hand is their black employee, Handsome Brown.
The stories are narrated by son William without much comment and they portray the regular, if not daily, hare-brained schemes that Morris Stroud comes up with in the effort to make a quick buck. Or even a sum of money smaller than that. Morris is not a totally likeable man, he's lazy, an adulterer, and he takes advantage of his employee Handsome whom he treats rather badly. Yet he manages to be an amusing character as well, as we witness his attempts to make good financially result in inevitable failure, he doesn't seem to realize that destroying or stealing people's assets/property is not a good way to strive for success. Morris (Pa) is lazy, not likely to have steady work or a regular wage. What did the long-suffering wife Martha (Ma) see in him in the first place, why marry him? I guess we'll never know, and neither will she.
The stories are quick, easy reads and the book can be read in a day or two. As expected, they are a product of their time. Handsome is a subservient, obedient employee of the "Yes Master " stereotype, and lets the no-good Morris treat him badly and does all his dirty work for him.
But this is the South of a bygone era, the book was published in 1943 and was set in some time frame even before that. Only a fool would expect political correctness in a book like this.
Thankfully the book is reasonably short, otherwise the continuous theme of the stories - worthless Pa and angry, frustrated Ma - would get a bit too repetitive and samey after a while.
I've read a lot of Caldwell's books over the years and enjoyed them all. GEORGIA BOY isn't one of his very best, but it's still good. The subjects of poverty and racism are there, but presented in a less grim, less serious way than in some of his other works. Worth a read if you can find a copy.
November 23, 2017
Another eclectic work by Caldwell. In part, it is pretty hard to fully rate and review. On the one side, Georgia Boy can be seen as a compilation of short stories revolving around the same family unit all see through the eyes of a boy. The style is quite different in writing compared to the other bulk standard Caldwell works, you don’t seem to get the same Southern Drawl and makeup as the others. In part the stories had a light hearted comic twist to them. On the other side, if you take the book as a whole, it was very disjointed, didn’t flow fully, and, as true to form the same common themes ran through Caldwell’s works, that of desperation and depravity, the looser father who instead of knuckling down to work for a regular pay cheque, had and got all these grand schemes of making some money and each and every time none of them worked out. You have a family unit who the wife knew the husband was a looser, stuck around despite of this where drinking and sleeping with other women/ fooling around was the common theme and norm.
Although raised, it was never fully touched upon, the themes of religion and its discord, the overwhelming of no one specific church but the multitude of them all vying for the congregation. There are and were deep resentments to Church and organised religion. The other theme as per many of his books was the farm hand, race and slavery. These themes you were aware of, but, never fully explored unlike in many of his other works, like ‘Trouble in July’, ‘Episode in Palmetto’ and ‘Journeyman’, but, if you read this from the point of view as through the eyes of a young boy.
Although raised, it was never fully touched upon, the themes of religion and its discord, the overwhelming of no one specific church but the multitude of them all vying for the congregation. There are and were deep resentments to Church and organised religion. The other theme as per many of his books was the farm hand, race and slavery. These themes you were aware of, but, never fully explored unlike in many of his other works, like ‘Trouble in July’, ‘Episode in Palmetto’ and ‘Journeyman’, but, if you read this from the point of view as through the eyes of a young boy.
January 10, 2021
Oxymoronic as it may seem, this collection of short stories is essentially a light-hearted and comic take on the moronic, racist and sexist attitudes of the old South. That said, to my mind, it does work. Read with a modern eye there is no doubt that some will be offended and put off. Story 10, Handsome Brown's Day Off, was the most off-putting in this manner and thankfully not all are as starkly unacceptable to modern readers as this.
I found myself laughing regularly throughout the collection. Whether resulting from Morris Stroup's hare-brained schemes, the dialogue and actions between warring spouses or purely the darkly humorous situations that arise I honestly found this an amusing set of easily readable stories.
Coming into this off the back of reading Tobacco Road I actually found this as cohesive overall. This is an easier read, though not necessarily 'better'. Nor would I say it is worse. I laughed out loud more often in Georgia Boy though maybe not as deeply as the infamous beginning of Tobacco Road with Jeeter and the turnips.
I look forward to reading God's Little Acre and any other Caldwell books I get my hands on. Any recommendations from others would be gratefully received. Whilst Caldwell isn't my favourite Southern author I do think his work is worth reading for anyone interested in the 'Dirty South' or Southern Gothic and any other names given to this weird and wild genre.
I found myself laughing regularly throughout the collection. Whether resulting from Morris Stroup's hare-brained schemes, the dialogue and actions between warring spouses or purely the darkly humorous situations that arise I honestly found this an amusing set of easily readable stories.
Coming into this off the back of reading Tobacco Road I actually found this as cohesive overall. This is an easier read, though not necessarily 'better'. Nor would I say it is worse. I laughed out loud more often in Georgia Boy though maybe not as deeply as the infamous beginning of Tobacco Road with Jeeter and the turnips.
I look forward to reading God's Little Acre and any other Caldwell books I get my hands on. Any recommendations from others would be gratefully received. Whilst Caldwell isn't my favourite Southern author I do think his work is worth reading for anyone interested in the 'Dirty South' or Southern Gothic and any other names given to this weird and wild genre.
March 2, 2022
خیلی تو ذوقم خورد، اعصابمو خورد کرد، و یه حجمی از خشم تخلیه نشدنی توم باقی گذاشت
اگه پدر برادران کارمازوف یکی از پسراشو کنارش نگه میداشت عین همین کتاب رو مینوشتن، ولی خب خوشبختانه مسئولیت پذیرتر از پدر لوزر این داستان بود و بچههاشو اینور اونور ول کرد
این مدل طنز دارکو روی هرچی بذارن یه پوزخند تلخی روی لب آدم میاره بجز همین یه موضوع؛ خونوادههای افتضاح
انتظار چندتا داستان گوگولی مگول بامزه داشتم، تو مایه های قصههای من و بابام، ( که کتاب کیوتیه و برای بچهها مخصوصا تقویت مهارت narration مناسبه) ولی این یکی نهههههه برای آدم بزرگایی که تروماهای کودکی دارن عین جنایته
اولش اینجوری بود که میگفتم اوکی باشه تهش چی؟ و ته داستان meh بودم، بعد چنتا داستان جلوتر اومد و همون یه خط اول تا تهش قابل پیش بینی بود و عصبانی میشدم؛ دوباره به بهونه بازیافت وسایل ضروری خونه رو نابود میکنه
اصن ته اون داستان اول به حدی عصبانی شدم که میخواستم تا ته ته کتابو بخونم مطمئن شم زنش پدرشو درمیاره، تا تک تک موهای کلشو نکنه آروم نمیگیگیرم؛ و میتونم با اطمینان بگم کشتن خروس جنگی یارو یه هزارم بلایی که فقط تو اون داستان اول سر زنش آوردم نبود
اخه چرا؟؟؟؟ چرا زن اینقدره بیعرضهای؟
شاید چون روایت داستان از زبون یه بچه تو سن پایین بود که درست و غلط رو خیلی متوجه نمیشه، چه بسا تنها آدم بزرگ موثر دیگهایم که تو داستانه خدمتکارشونم متوجه نمیشه، از پدرش که رابطهی عاطفی نا متناسبی باهاش داره یه قهرمان میسازه
ولی اینا مهم نیست؛ کتاب به شدت اعصاب خوردکنی بود.
اگه پدر برادران کارمازوف یکی از پسراشو کنارش نگه میداشت عین همین کتاب رو مینوشتن، ولی خب خوشبختانه مسئولیت پذیرتر از پدر لوزر این داستان بود و بچههاشو اینور اونور ول کرد
این مدل طنز دارکو روی هرچی بذارن یه پوزخند تلخی روی لب آدم میاره بجز همین یه موضوع؛ خونوادههای افتضاح
انتظار چندتا داستان گوگولی مگول بامزه داشتم، تو مایه های قصههای من و بابام، ( که کتاب کیوتیه و برای بچهها مخصوصا تقویت مهارت narration مناسبه) ولی این یکی نهههههه برای آدم بزرگایی که تروماهای کودکی دارن عین جنایته
اولش اینجوری بود که میگفتم اوکی باشه تهش چی؟ و ته داستان meh بودم، بعد چنتا داستان جلوتر اومد و همون یه خط اول تا تهش قابل پیش بینی بود و عصبانی میشدم؛ دوباره به بهونه بازیافت وسایل ضروری خونه رو نابود میکنه
اصن ته اون داستان اول به حدی عصبانی شدم که میخواستم تا ته ته کتابو بخونم مطمئن شم زنش پدرشو درمیاره، تا تک تک موهای کلشو نکنه آروم نمیگیگیرم؛ و میتونم با اطمینان بگم کشتن خروس جنگی یارو یه هزارم بلایی که فقط تو اون داستان اول سر زنش آوردم نبود
اخه چرا؟؟؟؟ چرا زن اینقدره بیعرضهای؟
شاید چون روایت داستان از زبون یه بچه تو سن پایین بود که درست و غلط رو خیلی متوجه نمیشه، چه بسا تنها آدم بزرگ موثر دیگهایم که تو داستانه خدمتکارشونم متوجه نمیشه، از پدرش که رابطهی عاطفی نا متناسبی باهاش داره یه قهرمان میسازه
ولی اینا مهم نیست؛ کتاب به شدت اعصاب خوردکنی بود.
January 6, 2024
Caldwell once enjoyed immense, international popularity for his writings about the hardscrabble lives of poor white Southerners and especially for the novels Tobacco Road and God's Little Acre. Georgia Boy is a collection of tales about one such family. As I read, I frequently laughed out loud at the skill with which Caldwell mined common stereotypes while investing his characters with a shared humanity: Pa, the lazy, no-'count patriarch always on the make; Ma, the put-upon housewife struggling to build a "decent" family against the odds; Handsome Brown, the young Black man who worked for the family without regular salary; the son and narrator whose reminiscences are tinged with affection; and sundry grifters and layabouts. Caldwell's heroes were always the poor, including Blacks as well as Whites. When I was 20, I read Tobacco Road. I mentioned to my mother, whose hardscrabble Georgia childhood resembled that of Caldwell's depiction, that I found Caldwell's depiction of Georgia "exaggerated." After a moment, she replied, "Not much."
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