Una tragedia americana Book

Wow! Quite an epic novel here! I can see why this one is a classic.

At first, I was not sure how this one was going for me. As it is very long and hit a somewhat slow and repetitive patch about a third of the way through, I thought it was going to be 3 or 4 stars. But, with the way it was written, I was enthralled as it hit the midpoint and could not keep myself away from it until it was done. So, I am giving the slow and repetitive part a pass in this case and saying, without a doubt, that this is a 5-star book.

You may see that I marked this as a legal drama. Unfortunately, that is a bit of a spoiler because it does not become that until about 2/3 of the way through. But, that is exactly what the first two thirds of the book is building up to. It is a commentary on society at the time the book was written: religion, social status, relationships, morals, crime, punishment, etc. etc. etc. It is all in here and it makes for quite a stew for the readers consumption.

I think that this book that will certainly engage many and might infuriate some. The main character, Clyde, is such that you want to reach into the pages frequently, shake him, and yell,"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?!?" But, no matter how you react to the story and the characters, it will leave you thinking about right vs wrong, decision making, justifying behavior to yourself, etc. I cannot say for sure that there is one definitive interpretation for the resolution of this book. I think it could possibly be interpreted a hundred different ways and they would all be correct.

I am very thankful to have read this for a book club, because I am not sure if I would have ever picked it up otherwise. It is nice that groups of fellow readers help me find intriguing titles like this that will have me thinking for quite some time to come.