![]() The extremely dramatic cowboy/western style ending, though worth the read of the book for, is the finale of about the last 10th of the book and appears somewhat out of place and perhaps overly contrived. Trina's miserliness dominates and steers the McTeague downfall. The depiction of the late 1800s America is very appealing but the realistic thrust of the story is just too meandering overall. This is a very slow burn sinister story with the build-up of the relationship of McTeague and Trina taking far too long I found. The dynamic of both couples rotating around both a real or imagined fortune is clever - suffice is to say brutal murder is the outcome. The dynamic occurs when Trina wins a fortune and Marcus regrets his magnanimity and falls out with McTeague.Īn interesting angle with the construction of the story is another couple Maria (McTeague's housemaid) and Zerkow (a Jewish merchant) also get together but based on his belief that Maria has a hidden fortune in a gold dinner service. The basic storyline being that Marcus wants Trina but gives way to McTeague. This is the dark, nasty tale of McTeague, a slow witted dentist his girlfriend Trina and their mutual friend (Trina's cousin) Marcus. There was some controversy regarding the content at the time but to be honest compared to Zola the realistic incident (child wetting himself) most discussed in the press at the time is very mild in comparison. His writing style was inspired by Emile Zola (my favourite author). This is another early natural realism novel by American author Frank Norris in around 1899. Nothing is more remarkable in the book t -This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. ![]() McTeague's San Francisco is the underworld of that society, and the darkness of its tragedy, its pitilessness, its grotesque humor, is like the rumbling of hell. ![]() "The novel glows in a light that makes it the first great tragic portrait in America of an acquisitive society. "McTeague is one of the great works of the modern American imagination," wrote Alfred Kazin. It remains a searing indictment of human weakness and selfishness in a rapidly evolving America that battled to reconcile city life with the mores of the Wild West. Yet the novel's ultrarealistic portrayal of the rise and fall of a simpleminded dentist and his grasping wife shocked many readers with its candid depiction of sordid behavior right at the edge of insanity. Critics hailed Frank Norris as the "American Zola" for his gritty tale of greed and violence set in turn-of-the-century San Francisco. From the Inside FlapĪted a literary sensation when it first appeared in 1899. This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Ed Asner, Rene Auberjonois, Ed Begley Jr., Georgia Brown, Jack Coleman, Bud Cort, Judy Ann Elder, Hector Elizondo, Fionnula Flanagan, Teri Garr, Katherine Helmond, Howard Hessman, Helen Hunt, Amy Irving, Carol Kane, Stacy Keach, Sara Kessler, Nan Martin, Richard Masur, Marsha Mason, Rue McLanahan, Marian Mercer, Judd Nelson, Holly Palance, Judge Reinhold, Franklin Seales, David Selby, Joe Spano, Madeleine Smith, JoBeth Williams, Michael York and Harris Yulen. This seminal novel about murder, obsession and the destructive effects of greed features an all-star cast including Stacy Keach, Edward Asner, Ed Begley Jr., Hector Elizondo, Helen Hunt, Marsha Mason and many more.Īn L.A. Frank Norris' powerful insights into the depths of the human soul make this a story of compelling narrative force. Stacy Keach stars in this shocking tale of a Polk Street dentist and his wife in 1899 San Francisco.
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