Never too Late to Read Classics discussion

Lesle's Choice of Substitute Authors:

Patrick Hamilton (England-Hassocks)
He was well regarded by Graham Greene and J. B. Priestley, and study of his novels has been revived because of their distinctive style, deploying a Dickensian narrative voice to convey aspects of inter-war London street culture. The Midnight Bell (1929) is based upon Hamilton's falling in love with a prostitute and was later published along with The Siege of Pleasure (1932) and The Plains of Cement (1934) as the semi-autobiographical trilogy Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky (1935).

Henry Green (England-Tewkesbury)
Green's novels are important works of English modernist literature. His best-regarded novels are Living (1929), Party Going(1939), and Loving (1945).

Chester Himes (American-Missouri)
His works, some of which have been filmed, include If He Hollers Let Him Go published in 1945, and the of novels for which he is best known, set in the 1950s and early 1960s and featuring two black policemen called Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson. The titles of the series include A Rage in Harlem, The Real Cool Killers, The Crazy Kill, All Shot Up,The Big Gold Dream, and Blind Man with a Pistol; all written between 1957 and 1969.

Thomas Wolfe (American-North Carolina)
He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing. His books, written and published from the 1920s to the 1940s, vividly reflect on American culture.
Look Homeward, Angel (1929)
Of Time and the River: A Legend of Man's Hunger in His Youth (1935)
The Lost Boy (1937)
The Web and the Rock (1939; published posthumously)
You Can't Go Home Again(1940; published posthumously)
The Hills Beyond (1941; published posthumously)

These authors are just some of my suggestions that I thought would be intereint to read. You may substitue one of the these authors in any month throughout 2024.

Tell us if you have read anything form them and what your thojughts about the author was or if you would like to discover with a new work with us, please share that too. Any recommenations?

I'm interested somehow in Henry Green and Thomas Wolfe.

Oh cool, Himes and Wolfe appeal to me at first glance.
Himes has alot of short work, so I'll aspire to include him somewhere in the year. Wolfe has alot of notable huskies that will be harder to fit in. But maybe a short story would be a nice way to test those waters anyway.

I would also appreciate people's thoughts and recs if you've read them already. I've seen a few group member reviews which helps.

I was thinking of Hangover Square for Patrick Hamilton. Not a lot of choices in my part of the world.

I've ordered the Patrick Hamilton trilogy.

Glad to see some interest in these authors. All but one are new to me.

Welcome Luis, Jen, Lorraine and John to the thread. Are they new authors for you?

Lesle wrote: "Glad to see some interest in these authors. All but one are new to me.

Welcome Luis, Jen, Lorraine and John to the thread. Are they new authors for you?"

Yes. The four of them are new to me. Curious about Chester Himes.

I purchased If He Hollers Let Him Go his first novel.

The story spans four days in the life of Robert "Bob" Jones, a newcomer to Los Angeles from Ohio. In this period, black workers are gaining opportunities in the defense industry as a result of executive orders of President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Lesle wrote: "Glad to see some interest in these authors. All but one are new to me.

Welcome Luis, Jen, Lorraine and John to the thread. Are they new authors for you?"

Yes, they are all new to me....and I must admit, I'm greatly intrigued by Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson, so Chester Himes might be my next choice.

John wrote: "Yes, they are all new to me....and I must admit, I'm greatly intrigued by Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson..."

Please share John when you get around to either of them!

Lesle wrote: "Glad to see some interest in these authors. All but one are new to me.

Welcome Luis, Jen, Lorraine and John to the thread. Are they new authors for you?"

Only Henry Green.

@Lesle, I’ve learned just a bit only recently about Wolfe but pretty much they are all new to me.

Luís wrote: "Lesle wrote: "Glad to see some interest in these authors. All but one are new to me.

Welcome Luis, Jen, Lorraine and John to the thread. Are they new authors for you?"

Only Henry Green."

Oh! And Patrick Hamilton.

The Lost Boy by Thomas Wolfe I read over six years ago. Hard to believe. Very interesting read.

Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lesle wrote: "The Lost Boy by Thomas Wolfe I read over six years ago. Hard to believe. Very interesting read.

Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Here's my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Great review Luis. Makes me want to read it again!

Lesle wrote: "Great review Luis. Makes me want to read it again!"

Thank you, Lesle!

Patrick Hamilton, Hangover Square.
"At first, I hesitated about diving into this book. Did I really want to immerse myself in the life of an alcoholic, mentally unstable character, navigating the chaotic streets of London, all while pining hopelessly for someone indifferent to his existence? Yet, with no other options for this author available at my local library, I took the plunge – and I'm glad I did. Hamilton's storytelling prowess is undeniable; once I started, I couldn't tear myself away. Reminiscent of Ernesto Sabato's 'The Tunnel,' where the protagonist grapples with the idea of murdering a woman, 'Hangover Square' leaves you pondering the fate of George. Will he find redemption or spiral further into despair? Will he succumb to his darkest impulses? Hamilton's narrative captivates because it toys with our perceptions; we're led to blame Netta for George's plight, only to realize it's a poignant tale of unrequited love and a man's struggle to accept reality."

Lorraine wrote: "Patrick Hamilton, Hangover Square.
"At first, I hesitated about diving into this book. Did I really want to immerse myself in the life of an alcoholic, mentally unstable character, navigating the ..."

That's good to know, Lorraine - I've managed to get all three books in the trilogy, and I hope to start them next week. Like you, I was a bit hesitant about the content, but your comments have given me the motivation I needed.

John wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "Patrick Hamilton, Hangover Square.
"At first, I hesitated about diving into this book. Did I really want to immerse myself in the life of an alcoholic, mentally unstable character..."

Let us know what you think. I might buy them, after reading your reviews. I just saw my library bought another one of his book : The slaves of solitude. Adding it to my TBR.

Lorraine and John

I did not know anything about this author. Looking forward to more comments about his work.

I’m guessing the Chester Himes Harlem Cycle series doesn’t need to be read in order. Can anyone let me know?
Thanks in advance for your input :)

Brian I was thinking about ordering one of Patrick Hamilton books and having a hard time deciding. Any thoughts?

I was thinking on Craven House or The Gorse Trilogy: The West Pier, Mr Stimpson and Mr Gorse, Unknown Assailant. I know the last is a triology but I thought the could be read as stand a lones?.

Sorry Lesle, but as I had not yet posted in this thread, I didn't realize you had asked me a question.

Hangover Square and The Slaves of Solitude are Hamilton's most highly regarded novels. I've read both and would recommend starting with Hangover Square. His Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky is pretty good too.
The Gorse trilogy is not as highly regarded as the others as his drinking was affecting is writing by then, especially in Unknown Assailant. Some like Craven House but I'd start with his more highly regarded ones
If you read Hangover Square you can then watch the 1945 movie version which changes many elements but keeps the plot basics and is kind of interesting https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037761/

This year I've been reading Patrick Hamilton's 1935 trilogy of connected novellas called Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky consisting of The Midnight Bell, The Siege of Pleasure and The Plains of Cement and Henry Green's trilogy of unconnected novellas Loving / Living / Party Going

I have been alernating reading a novella by Hamilton with a novella by Green for the past few months and have read the first two novellas in each trilogy. However, rather than label my read of these trilogies as my Hamilton/Green read, I have chosen to use their first names and refer to it as my Patrick/Henry read.

No worries Brian.

I think I will order Hangover Square and I had been keeping Loving on my wishlist already for Green's. Found Loving to be of interest with the Dialogue that takes place with the servants during WWII.

These are my reviews of the Hamilton, Green, Himes and Wolfe novels I have read so far in 2024:

Patrick Hamilton
1) The Midnight Bell - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2) The Siege of Pleasure - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Henry Green
3) Loving - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4) Living - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Chester Himes
5) A Rage in Harlem - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I don't mention Thomas Wolfe because I haven't read any Thomas Wolfe novels this year and likely won't. It's not that I don't like him - as I do - it's just that his books are just too vast and wordy to read in a year that I'm also reading In Search of Lost Time.

I have read Wolfe's first two novels, featuring Eugene Gant as his alter-ego, years ago:
Look Homeward, Angel - 4 stars (no review)
Of Time and the River: A Legend of Man's Hunger in His Youth - 3 stars (no review)

On a trip visiting Asheville and the Thomas Wolfe home in April of 2015, I read the original unedited version of "Angel" with 66,000 words added back in, called O Lost: A Story of the Buried Life,* which I actually preferred to Look Homeward Angel. The story has always been that Maxwell Perkins saved an unpublishable novel by editing it but I found that the new material in the unedited version added a depth to the family saga not seen in the edited Look Homewood Angel, making for a richer, more rewarding reading experience. I was surprised by this.

Wolfe has overly descriptive florid writing that I do almost revel in, but it is somewhat exhausting to read him, just as Proust is. He is also not to everyone's taste, especially 21st Century tastes.

If someone would prefer a Wolfe "snack" rather than the usual giant Wolfe banquet he likes to serve, then I recommend reading his 94 page novella The Lost Boy. I read it in this group 2 years ago and, I think, Lesle read it too. Here's my 4 star review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

* The 66,000 omitted words is about the length of these novels:
or
So, the Word Counts of the two versions are:
- 228,000 words, similar to
-162,000 words, similar to

For more perspective, these are other word counts:
is 47,000 words, is 358,000 words & is 560,000 words

I hadn't planned on reading anything from Wolfe, but Brian's suggestion of starting with the novella The Lost Boy sounds appealing, so I've just ordered it.

Thanks for that suggestion, Brian.

I really enjoyed The Lost Boy a really different type of read. I read it in July of 2017 first time I had heard of Wolfe.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished and really enjoyed The Lost Boy. Hopefully, if time permits, I'll manage one of his novels later in the year.

John it is a great read and am glad you enjoyed it!

Here's my reviews of 2 Hamilton and Green novels I read in May and June:

Patrick Hamilton's The Plains of Cement -https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Henry Green's Party Going - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Informative reviews Brian. Thanks!!

I’ve read at least one Chester Himes and loved it. Anything involving old, gritty NYC I absolutely love. His are interesting and different because they are set way up in Harlem. A neighborhood that, unfortunately, many authors in the genre don’t explore.

Chad wrote: "His are interesting and different because they are set way up in Harlem. A ..."

Never thought about it that way.

Oh I've been forgetting to report back here- I read A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes recently and loved it! Glad to have learned of this writer through this group! I definitely want to read more of his work. This version had a great afterword by Lucy Sante (who at the time of publication still used the previous name Luc). I also appreciate the Harlem setting. After The Autobiography of Malcolm X and The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History, a new book on a great bit of dance history, I have got a nice view of this borough from different angles. And our James Baldwin reading coming up later this year should add to that :)

Also, I'm reading a contemporary memoir at the moment and it had a Patrick Hamilton quote at the beginning that I thought was beautiful. It came from Angel Street: A Victorian Thriller in Three Acts which is apparently also called Gaslight... so now I'm curious about that one. A short play, so maybe I can fit it in this year still...

Jen wrote: "I have got a nice view of this borough from different angles. And our James Baldwin reading coming up later this year should add to that :)..."

Nice that you pulled in Baldwin with your thoughts about Himes.

Very interesting thoughts Jen.

I’m reading The Real Cool Killers and it doesn’t disappoint. The beginning is a bit much. The first 20 pages felt like Himes was trying to put an action movie to paper. It gets better.