Ohio-, Winesburg

By focusing on small town America of a bygone era, Anderson draws a picture that explains many of our current values. This was an assigned book as part of a writing class which I took, and the author's expository style is useful to those who are trying to organize their own work for academic credit or publication.

A nice collection of stories, some if them very good. A few of the stories seemed a little pointless, and themes repeated themselves a few too many times throughout the collection. Overall a worthwhile read, but maybe not deserving of its vaunted status in American Literature classes across America

Simply a classic of short story writing. Amos Oz--among other contemporary authors--drew particular influence from the Winesburg stories in creating small communities where meetings and interactions between characters pop up in different situations, revealing glimpses of more complex networks of relationships and personal histories. This is one of the features of Winesburg that I really enjoyed. But I was particularly struck by the role that place and its seasons played in setting the stage for our getting a further glimpse of Anderson's characters' innermost emotions and thoughts, at particularly critical moments in stories that they were part of or were making. Moreover, Anderson is more masterful in these short stories than in his longer novels in artfully presenting a self-conscious portrayal of his characters being in a world that was so rapidly changing, in the process of mechanization, immigration, industrialization, so that the gulf between generations, between adulthood and childhood was remarkably wide, yet mediated by lingering technologies and traces of the world before industrialization.

Simply a classic of short story writing. Amos Oz--among other contemporary authors--drew particular influence from the Winesburg stories in creating small communities where meetings and interactions between characters pop up in different situations, revealing glimpses of more complex networks of relationships and personal histories. This is one of the features of Winesburg that I really enjoyed. But I was particularly struck by the role that place and its seasons played in setting the stage for our getting a further glimpse of Anderson's characters' innermost emotions and thoughts, at particularly critical moments in stories that they were part of or were making. Moreover, Anderson is more masterful in these short stories than in his longer novels in artfully presenting a self-conscious portrayal of his characters being in a world that was so rapidly changing, in the process of mechanization, immigration, industrialization, so that the gulf between generations, between adulthood and childhood was remarkably wide, yet mediated by lingering technologies and traces of the world before industrialization.

After reading Sherwood Anderson's book about Winesburg, Ohio I came away knowing the characters as though they were my nieghbors. It's a powerful read about plain folks who struggle with their demons, whether it's thier happiness,or unhappiness. Their loves or their imaginary loves. Thier wanting of something better from life and even somtimes from death. You will enjoy the stories as they unfold about the occupants of this small town as the pages turn from story to story.An enjoyable and must read. Steve Tuers.

It's a wonderful book that tells many stories that connect to one over all idea. The reader has the unique opportunity to see through the eyes of many of the characters in town and define his or her own meaning for of "grotesque".

Shipping was fairly timely. The book itself was in very good shape. Better than expected.

But the reason this is rated only two stars is that the layout of the text is awful. Almost no margin or gutter and no indenting of new paragraphs. Makes it not only hard to read but also doesn’t invite the reader in for pleasurable experience. If you can, get a different addition.

A very nice collection of short stories by Anderson. He is a great realist writer and this book shines. It shatters the stereotype of the small town, and the grotesques are very interesting people. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in realist literature.

Book was received in a timely fashion in excellent condition. I would recommend this dealer. The story is a little strange and somewhat depressing so far, so why can't I put it down? Thanks for the service.

The collection of short stories are easy to read tales of a simple, rural environment Ca. 1890. Mr. Anderson should be instructive to modern writers who wish to communicate well. I enjoy reading a few stories each night to "wind down". No big themes here, but lots of humanity.

I was interested in this title; seemed like an odd pick in a must read literature list. On the positive its under 200 pages so even if you are not as compelled to read, its very possible to finish in a day. This book is extremely rereadable; at least twice. Many engaging characters. Like most profound literature, its not so much about a person as it is the portrait. You can smell the farm, hear the wet muddy roads.

I bought this for a class but was really surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. All of the stories center around characters who live in this fictionalized town, and it was neat to read about all of the same characters in different stories and in different ways.

Wineburg Ohio is a novel composed of chapters that could also be stand-alone short stories. There are characters that go from story to story but these characters do not hold the novel together. The short stories/chapters are held together by a dark vision of small-town life and a pessimistic approach to finding fulfillment in life.
There are stories of people who were naive and foolish and got what they wanted only to find out they didn't really want or need that which they previously desired. There are stories of people who have more clear and realistic visions of their wants and needs, but circumstances thwart and twist them into despair. There are those who are hurt so badly by life's lessons that they have given up and are defeated. There are characters that are destroyed by their families, friends, teachers, and employers. There are also those characters that do their best to destroy their families, friends, teachers, and employers. Thus I found the book to be dark and overly pessimistic.

The stories are related in a straight forward, parable style of writing. However, within each story is nuggets of insight or observation that save the novel from sinking into a dark hole of despair at the human condition. The only humor is the humor of the mentally ill. If the funniest passages in a book are about mental health symptoms, it is in trouble.
I am not one to classify this as a 'classic' due to the negative world view that Anderson brings to almost every character and to almost every situation. People don't really know what they want and are dissatisfied with what they get - this is the theme of the book summarized in one sentence. On this philosophy, it is difficult to build an entire novel, even if it is structured as a string of short stories.

I dispute mentions of Anderson as an inspiration for Hemingway, et al.
These stories are sparse narrations, tales of mundane events in ways
that to me drummed on without revealing plots or character of unusual
interest. Like, descriptive, but not so entertaining or enlightening.
Maybe of worth to sense the tenor of those Middle America times. But
a vintage Sears & Roebuck's catelogue could do it too.

In 20-some stories I found only several which tweaked my interest and
provided unique human insights. Phrasing was expository and its meter
was consistent through all stories; compared to a semi-contemporaneous
writer The Stories of John Cheeverof Anderson's
time, John Cheever, these are pretty flat reads.

I thought I would really enjoy this classic since I grew up in small-town Ohio. I found it very difficult to stick with some of the stories, but muddled through. Some tales were decent but they would end too soon. It is an easy read and some may really enjoy it but I did not.

Take the simplicity of William Saroyan but omit the charm. Take the sparse imagery of Robert Frost but omit the poetry. Take the kaleidoscopic view of small town America of Edgar Lee Masters but omit the humanity. And there you have Anderson's Winesburg. There is no elegance in his style and no consequence in his narrative. He seeks to reveal Middle America with a series of vignettes but the result is a frustrating, meandering journey to Nowhere, Ohio.