Good Reads - Fiction
Classic Chicago
FICTION/ALGREN
Algren, Nelson - The Man with the Golden Arm - 1978 (c1949), 343 p.
This novel, which won the first National Book Award in 1950, gives a darkly humorous look at life on Chicago’s predominantly Polish Northwest side through the eyes of WWII veteran Frankie Majcinek. This 29-year-old, nicknamed Frankie Machine for his unnervingly steady arm while dealing cards, spends restless days dealing an illegal poker game, caring for his crippled wife, and committing small robberies with the neighborhood dog thief. Although infamous as a joker and a tough guy, Frankie has a secret vice that even he is not strong enough to overcome—a morphine addiction that is slowly destroying his life.
FICTION/BELLOW
Bellow, Saul - Humboldt’s Gift - 1973, 487 p.
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Bellow follows Chicago author Charles Citrine from his promising childhood in the 1930s to his downfall in the mid-1970s. Charlie, an exuberant and passionate man who likes everyone he meets, was greatly influenced by the poised and poetic Von Humboldt Fleisher. Humboldt’s life goal was to use writing to uplift mankind, and he died a failure. In contrast, Charlie’s career has taken off, but gambling and divorce debts are threatening to destroy him. He drifts aimlessly through the vices of gangster-run areas of the city, until one last gift from his mentor offers redemption.
FICTION/DREISER
Dreiser, Theodore - Sister Carrie - 1959 (c1900), 418 p.
This novel, which created a scandal after its publication in 1900, tells the story of Caroline Meeber, a 16-year-old from small town Columbia City who moves to Chicago to experience big-city life. The quiet girl who was nicknamed “Sister Carrie” by her family is soon corrupted by previously unimagined glamour and wealth. Dreiser creates a wonderful portrait of Chicago in 1889, about twenty years after the Chicago fire, when the Loop was covered in factories and Lincoln Park and Michigan Boulevard were up-and-coming neighborhoods.
FICTION/DYBEK
Dybek, Stuart - The Coast of Chicago - 1990, 173 p.
This beautifully haunting collection of short stories was chosen as the spring 2004 book for the “One Book, One Chicago” program. Although published in 1990, the stories span generations of the city and its residents. From the shamed pregnant daughter of a Bohemian landlady to a Mexican-Polish carjacker named Pepper to a blonde-haired virgin forever encased in a block of ice, Dybek’s characters are a mixture of myth and the most startling reality.
FICTION/FARRELL
Farrell, James - Studs Lonigan - 1943, 201 p.
Young Lonigan, the first novel in the Studs Lonigan trilogy, which also includes The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan and Judgment Day, portrays an Irish-Catholic teenager growing up on the South side of Chicago in 1916. Fifteen-year-old Studs, who is the best fighter on his block, has dreams of proving his worth as a man. However, to his continual annoyance, Stud’s father is pressuring him to finish high school while his mother begs him to pray nightly for the calling to the priesthood. With blunt wit, Farrell depicts the struggle of an independent young man in an environment where ethnicity and neighborhood opinion mean everything.
FICTION/FERBER
Ferber, Edna - So Big - 1924, 259 p.
In this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Selina Peake DeJong is an ambitious, intelligent young woman with a mission to educate the families in the farming community of South Holland, a primarily Dutch suburb of Chicago. She is particularly passionate about introducing students to the arts, so it is a great disappointment when her own son Dirk, nicknamed So Big, gives up dreams of becoming an architect in order to pursue a life of luxury as a stockbroker in the city. Ferber contrasts early 1900s rural life with that in the downtown area with shrewd observation, but also with understanding.
FICTION/NORRIS
Norris, Frank - The Pit - 1994 (c1903), 369 p.
Norris’ overnight bestseller, written at the turn of the twentieth century, exposes the ruthlessness of the pits at the Chicago Board of Trade. Curtis Jadwin, a brilliant bear trader turned market speculator, decides to corner the wheat market for the thrill. He does not comprehend the destruction that this arrogant feat will bring to his colleagues, his marriage, or the European people who depend on American-grown wheat for food—until it is too late. Norris creates an explosive portrait of Chicago as a leader in industry, distribution, and innovation, and even his most hardened characters overflow with larger-than-life spirit.
977.311/ROY
Royko, Mike - Slats Grobnik and Some Other Friends - 1973, 307 p.
This collection of newspaper columns from legendary Chicago journalist Mike Royko spans the years 1966 to 1973. The title character, Slats Grobnik, is a fictitious archetype of the blue collar Chicagoan. The adventures and conversations between Mike and Slats bring to life the everyday experiences of the working man—the demographic with which Royko most identified. In his sarcastic yet humble voice, Royko expounds upon topics as varied as baseball, beer-brewing, and political corruption. Although always funny, the columns also serve to highlight serious injustices in the city.
811/SAN
Sandburg, Carl - Chicago Poems - 1994 (c 1916), 80 p.
Sandburg, who was awarded the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for poetry, published the poem Chicago in 1914, cementing the image of the “City of the Big Shoulders.” This collection includes Chicago, along with twenty-eight other poems about the city. Sandburg is a master of sparsely beautiful verse, and he has immortalized Chicago as a city of indomitable energy and homespun pride.
309.177311/TER
Terkel, Studs - Division Street: America - 1967, 381 p.
Studs Terkel set out to create the “American edition” of Jan Myrdal’s Report From a Chinese Village, so he interviewed over one hundred Chicago inhabitants of all ages, races, and socio-economic backgrounds. The result is a powerfully moving collection of the stories and experiences of 71 individuals. These interviews were conducted around the time of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the Second Red Scare, and Chicago’s residents react with a range of emotions. Some are bitter and cynical while others are compassionate and hopeful, but all are unfailingly honest.
Prepared by Lynette Pitrak, October 2009 |
