Not a name you know right off the bat.  She lived from 1885 to 1968.  She was a writer and while she doesn't have the fame of Clavell or Michener she is, in my opinion, a superb writer and a Pulitzer Prize Winner.

This sequestering had me searching for an author I had not already read.  Then I saw the movie Cimmaron a couple months ago and wondered who wrote it.  Enter Edna Ferber.  She also wrote Giant, Saratoga Trunk, So Big, Show Boat and other movies you older members may have remembered.

I decided to look into her books.  She was a prolific short story and short novel (less than 300 pages) author.  So I started with her short stories and became hooked.  I had been reading something during my lunch hour.  Now I am reading Edna during my lunch 2 hours.  I read a couple of her shorter novels.  Mostly she writes about strong female protagonists but also has leading male characters too.

What I like mostly, though, is what life was like during the first quarter of the last century.  So different from post WW2 and today and totally different values and loyalties.  Strong nuclear families.  And single women who worked as store clerks and lived at home or in boarding houses (there were no apartments as we know them back then).

I find the subject matter very interesting, the writing is excellent.  Ferber is a master at painting word pictures.

Not much excitement in the books.  Few plots.  Mostly slice of life stories.  She is not for everyone, but if you are looking for light reading and an insight into what life was like for your grandparents or great grand parents, it's worth a try.  Start with her 'Buttered Side Down' collection if you are interested.

I have a Nook and her short story collections are 1.99 at Barnes and Noble.  I suspect the prices would be the same for Kindles. 

Noel

Edna Ferber: Added to 'must check out' list. 👍

Amazon's prices for Edna Ferber's books ranges all over the place. Some Kindle editions are $0, such as Buttered Down Stories and Roast Beef, Medium.

Edna Ferber: The Complete Works (Annotated): Collection Including Dawn O'Hara, The Girl Who Laughed, Fanny Herself, Half Portions, One Basket, and More Kindle Edition is only $2.99.

I read Dawn Ohara and Fanny Herself.  I enjoyed reading them both.  Buttered Side Down and Roast Beef Medium are short story collections.

I'm retreating into the past with these books as well as Turner Classic Movies.  Last night had an excellent triple feature.  The Long Grey Line, How Green was my Valley, and The Grapes of Wrath.  I seem to gravitate to old movies with actors and actresses I know an without the smut and sex of modern movies and TV shows,.  I guess I'm just and old fogey.

Noel