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The Optimist Daughter A Novel Eudora Welty 9780375508356 Books

Download As PDF : The Optimist Daughter A Novel Eudora Welty 9780375508356 Books

The Optimist Daughter A Novel Eudora Welty 9780375508356 Books

This is not a plot driven book. It is a character study with Eudora Welty's powerful ability to tell her story through images and examples such as a lit-up bridge visible in the distance, flocks of birds and other powerful images. Through the death of her father and the encounters she has with her new step-mother, Laurel Hand is able to move forward into life rather than becoming stuck in the past.

Although short in length, the book moves slowly because the reader needs time to evaluate and apply the other messages given by the author through her use of images. Ms Welty does not tell us what to think, she lets us come to our own conclusions. This is a book that can be read many times and still find new meaning.


Tags : The Optimist's Daughter: A Novel [Eudora Welty] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. “It is easy to praise Eudora Welty, ” as Robert Penn Warren has written, “but it is not so easy to analyze the elements in her work that make it so easy—and such a deep plea-sure—to praise. To say that may,Eudora Welty,The Optimist's Daughter: A Novel,Random House,037550835X,903444324,Literary,Fathers;Death;Fiction.,Funeral rites and ceremonies;Fiction.,Women;Mississippi;Fiction.,Death,Fathers,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction General,Fiction Literary,Funeral rites and ceremonies,General,Mississippi,Women

The Optimist Daughter A Novel Eudora Welty 9780375508356 Books Reviews

I know and have known these women. Welty captured the very essence of being southern. Delightfully damning. I could read The optimist's daughter a dozen times for the beauty of her words and the depth of her insight.
With Eudora Welty as its author, it's no surprise that this book is written beautifully and that the story gradually reveals itself in a fascinating and skillful and unusual way. Welty immerses the reader in the atmosphere of a small southern town in the early sixties and through the skillful use of flashbacks creates a tremendously nostalgic view of a way of life that is largely gone.
On its face, this is a "little book," not only because it is short in length, but because its written in simple prose, straightforward language, and tells a bittersweet, simple story. But don't be fooled; beneath the surface lies a swirling tale of frustration and betrayal. Blink, and you will miss it. I did. On my second slower reading, I found layers in the layers, resentments and disappointments, flashes of anger and bitterness-even among friends, families and lovers.

Through the telling of this simple tale, the author pursues various themes, using character study, plot development, symbols (birds, flowers, and other household objects). Very few insights are given in a straightforward, declarative manner, but are unfolded slowly, in independent presentations, to which the reader gives weight by finding connections.

For example, one of the larger themes the author pursues is the way love and interdependence intertwine. In that regard, the author writes

"But Laurel had kept the pigeons under eye in their pigeon house and had already seen a pair of them sticking their beaks down each other's throats, gagging each other, eating out of each other's craws, swallowing down all over again what had been swallowed before...They convinced her that they could not escape each other and could not themselves be escaped from."

Later in the novel, she revisits this theme describing how Laurel's mother, on her death bed, angrily confronted her husband's inability to "see" her pain and frustration (which the mother refers to as "her betrayal") by calling him a coward--but simultaneously and steadfastly clinging to his hands, and refusing to let go.

Among other themes, as the title suggests, the author explores the notion of optimism, with the converse for the author, not being pessimism, but being realistic--the strength to face life and go on, even with its pains and difficulties. In that regard, the author writes, "But he was not an optimist--she knew that. Phil had learned everything he could manage to learn, and done as much as he had time for, to design houses to stand, to last, to be lived in; but he had known they could equally well, with the same devotion and tireless effort, be built of cards."

In conclusion, even after two readings, I feel that I have only scratched the surface of this book's depth. My suggestion for one considering a read, to achieve the maximum value this book has to offer, be prepared to do the work. If you are not (which is of course fine), its probably not the best choice.
Take your time, read it more than once. There is so much happening in such a small amount of time/ activity. This is a character study with enough depth that each time I read it I feel I have more insight or empathy for the people. At first glance some might seem "unlikeable" but for me they are all very believable and essential.
The star system doesn't work with this book because I'm not sure I liked it but it was a good book - and it isn't really a book, it felt more like a short story - something you'd find in an anthology of American literature.

It felt empty at first, in the beginning of the book the main character was not developed as in other books and I almost put it down, but I'm glad I didn't; not because it was a great read, but because I am still thinking about it and the prose is still sing-songing in my head. The important facts about the characters that I was looking for were left off until the end of the story when I finally understood that this was on purpose, that everything in the beginning was purposefully written in that style to culminate in the climax and the end of the story. It was then I started to read it with renewed interest and couldn't put it down.

It has affected me, but I found no satisfaction in it - it doesn't tie everything up neatly with a nice little bow and I was left wanting - I'm not sure wanting for what? Maybe to re-read it with my new insight now that I know the end.
Eudora Wetly's 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning novella is beautifully written with lovely imagery, symbolism and metaphors. The story line is simple, but Welty takes a difficult and complex situation and resolves it with incredible depth and meaning. The focus is on the characters, particularly Laurel (The Optimist's Daughter) and her struggle to reflect and process love and loss, move ahead in a healthy way to the present from the past. An exceptional sensitive, lovely read.
The book is divided into four parts. The story floats between past and present, with the characters, both deceased and living,carrying the tale along in a dream like fashion. Those characters are wonderfully drawn and some of the dialogues are laugh out loud funny.
I enjoyed the book, but the unusual writing style had me reading and rereading whole paragraphs in an attempt to grasp Welty's intended meaning. I wasn't always successful and so am left with a feeling that my intellect was not able to keep up with Eudora's!
This book would be a great choice for a book club...lots to ponder.
This is not a plot driven book. It is a character study with Eudora Welty's powerful ability to tell her story through images and examples such as a lit-up bridge visible in the distance, flocks of birds and other powerful images. Through the death of her father and the encounters she has with her new step-mother, Laurel Hand is able to move forward into life rather than becoming stuck in the past.

Although short in length, the book moves slowly because the reader needs time to evaluate and apply the other messages given by the author through her use of images. Ms Welty does not tell us what to think, she lets us come to our own conclusions. This is a book that can be read many times and still find new meaning.