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Jul 17, 2020SeattleSaul rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
An early twentieth century author comparing the big city of Chicago and the still rural, small farm, immigrant community of Illinois through her eye and then through her son’s. As the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the author of Showboat and Giant, she enjoyed popularity and a solid following. When we in the twenty-first century read this, I think it is necessary to understand the times of the writing, and a few of the remarks about African Americans and Japanese. There also seems to be a few non-sequential time jumps to make a point about something. Given all that, the story is very readable, but I was disappointed that it switched from the mother to her son, So Big, which was the intent of the author, as the mother to me was more interesting. I kept looking for a problem other than life itself for the characters to solve, and the two characters were too perfect. A century later when we’re drenched in sex and violence, it is a refreshing read, and you may find it so.