So Big (Harper Perennial Modern Classics) - Softcover

Ferber, Edna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061859982 ISBN 13: 9780061859984

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2010

Synopsis

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and widely considered to be Edna Ferber's greatest achievement, So Big is a classic novel of turn-of-the-century Chicago.

Hailed as a novel "to read and remember" (New York Times), So Big is the unforgettable story of the indomitable Selina Peake DeJong and her struggles to stay afloat and maintain her dignity in the face of a challenging marriage, widowhood, and single parenthood. First published in 1924, So Big is a brilliant literary masterwork from one of the twentieth century's most accomplished and admired writers, and still resonates today with its unflinching views of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.

About this title

Review:

"Recommended reading for our times."--Washington Post

"It has the completeness, and finality, that grips and exalts and convinces. . . . So Big is a masterpiece."--Literary Review

"[A] standout." --Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Her books were . . . vivid and had a sound sociological basis. She was among the best-read novelists in the nation, and critics of the 1920s and 1930s did not hesitate to call her the greatest American woman novelist of her day."--New York Times

"Edna Ferber could spin a tale."--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"For sheer readability few writers can equal Edna Ferber. She writes so smoothly and brightly, with so much gusto, with so wideawake a style and so clever a selection of detail that she routs all that is common-place and casts out all that is dull."--New York Times

"There can be no question that So Big gets close to the life of its chosen bit of American soil, or that it is persuasively human in its touch."--Springfield Republican

"A thoughtful book, clean and strong, dramatic at times, interesting always, clear-sighted, sympathetic, a novel to read and to remember."--New York Times

From the Back Cover:

The Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork from one of the twentieth century's most accomplished and admired writers, Edna Ferber's So Big is the unforgettable story of one woman's struggle to stay afloat and maintain her dignity in the face of monumental challenges.

Set in Chicago at the turn of the twentieth century, So Big tells the story of Selina Peake, orphaned at nineteen after her father is shot and killed in a gambling house. Alone and resolved to make something of her life, Selina gets a job as a schoolteacher in a farming community outside Chicago and falls in love with a kind but struggling farmer. She soon leaves the schoolhouse for long grueling days in the fields and gives birth to a son, Dirk, nicknamed "So Big." When she finds herself unexpectedly widowed, she takes the reins of the farm, defying convention and all those around her, determined to give Dirk every opportunity to follow his dreams.

A powerful story and stirring portrait of one of the most memorable women in American literature, So Big still resonates today with its unflinching views of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0061859982
• ISBN 13: 9780061859984
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288