Now that grad school has officially ended for me, I've had a little more time to read books of my own choosing, and considerably less scholarly journal articles. I've actually read another book before the one below, but haven't had the right frame of mind to give it a proper review (which will come soon). This is a book I've been wanting to read for a long time, but an author that I really admire and who was a big influence on the modern novelists that emerged in Paris during the first half of the last century. This is probably more accessible than some of his other works, so if you're looking to explore his writing, this is not a bad place to start. Enjoy.
(Marlowe & Company, 1960)
Gold is a deceptively thin first novel by the pioneering, and widely forgotten but influential Swiss/French author. Though it's not long in length, it surely covers a lot of area in its depth. In many ways, it follows the the early 20th century trope of a rags to riches story, but in typical Cendrars fashion, it turns that trope on its head.
This is one of the earliest attempts at Historical Fiction that I'm aware of, as it takes the life of the real John Augustus Sutter, a pioneer in California and the discoverer of gold that led to the famed Gold Rush of '49. Cendrars portrays Sutter's life as more tragic than it actually was as a way to strengthen the themes of the novel centered around fate, justice, and the futility of fighting against the first or for the latter.
This is one of the earliest attempts at Historical Fiction that I'm aware of, as it takes the life of the real John Augustus Sutter, a pioneer in California and the discoverer of gold that led to the famed Gold Rush of '49. Cendrars portrays Sutter's life as more tragic than it actually was as a way to strengthen the themes of the novel centered around fate, justice, and the futility of fighting against the first or for the latter.
Sutter had come to America as a penniless immigrant, and eventually makes his way to the violatile land of California where he establishes several successful enterprises on a huge swath of land granted to him by the Mexican government (then controllers of California). By the time California is part of the U.S., Sutter is on the verge of becoming the richest man in the world...and then gold is discovered on his vast properties. When the discovery leaks to the rest of the world, it spells the ruin for Sutter, who watches all he built quickly taken over by the flood of people coming to search for gold and build towns and cities on land that was rightfully his.
Fully engrossing and surprisingly moving.
No comments:
Post a Comment