So Big

De: Edna Ferber

Narrado por: Gabrielle de Cuir

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.

Left an orphan at 19 years old in the late 1880s, Selina Peake needs to support herself. She becomes a teacher in the farming community of High Prairie, Illinois, and soon marries Pervus DeJong, a farmer. After Pervus’ death, Selina takes over their struggling farm and raises their son, Dirk. Despite their hardships, she retains a deep appreciation for art and beauty and does her best to instill these values in Dirk, but will he recognize his mother’s wisdom before he loses a chance at love?

First published in 1924, So Big is a brilliant literary masterwork from one of the 20th century’s most accomplished and admired writers and still resonates today with its unflinching views of poverty, sexism, and the drive for success.

Public Domain (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Edna Gerber goes head to head with Charles Dickens

For her creative descriptions not of the same subject as his
but for love of people and life not content to be held in one image.
I first knew her as the author of Showboat in a school play .She plays with words and I am entranced with her overall stories lightly presented but very strong messages. The Narrator is Fabulous! Its a two in one value..delightful

Unfinished

Wonderful writing. Great storyline and concept but just a dull ending, as if she got bored and just set it aside in the middle of the story. Not even reflective or allusory.

An Unexpected Treat

Looking for a nice story to listen to while knitting, I happened upon this gem. Enjoyed it beginning to end. Great narrator too.

A most satisfying story and Narration.

The Author: Edna Ferber was born August 15, 1885 and died April 16, 1968. She was hugely popular for the half century from 1920s to the 1960s, winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 1924 novel SO BIG. Many of her novels were adapted into movies, probably most notably, her 1952 novel GIANT filmed by George Stevens in 1956 with Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. Now, over 50 years since her death, many, even good readers, would not be familiar with her, or not read any of her books. Of German Jewish descent she frequently faced anti-semitism in her younger years and discrimination often features in her novels.
The Novel: Although I had read various Ferber novels I had not read SO BIG. Time to rectify the omission. Interestingly, when she submitted the novel to her publishers, Doubleday, she said: “Who would be interested in a novel about a middle-aged woman in a calico dress with wispy hair and bad teeth, grubbing on a little truck farm south of Chicago?” Fortunately the editors at Doubleday loved it and it was the most successful novel of 1924, selling hundreds of thousands of copies, and, as indicated, won the Pulitzer.Prize.
Selina Peake is a school teacher in a Dutch farming community in Illinois. She marries Pervus, a Dutch farmer and they have a son, Dirk. Pervus dies and despite resistance, she pushes on to make a success of her new life. Dirk graduates as an architect, but then, ignoring his mother’s urging, turns to banking, where the money is, which provides a central theme of the novel: there are more things to life than money.
I loved it, the depiction of the rigid, stoic Dutch farmers. Selina’s determination to push on and meet the challenges from those who know farming and marketing is “man’s work”. Ferber’s depiction of the time, place and people is both rewarding and satisfying.
The Narrator: Gabrielle de Cuir does an absolutely masterful job here and honours both Ferber and the characters. She moves seamlessly between Selina, the prose and capturing the accents of these rural Dutch farmers and other more sophisticated characters.
This is one of the three best books I have listened to read by female narrators, the other two being TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD read by Sissy Spacek and REBECCA by Anna Massey, which equates to great, and a yardstick by which the reading of rich, rewarding novels peopled with diverse and fully developed characters should be measured. Bravo!

Great Classic!

Story and narration were great! I wish that the ending hadn’t been so abrupt. Very enjoyable and vividly written!

Another single mother with great ambitions for her son

Another single mother with great ambitions for her son

As the recipient of the 1926 #pulitzerprizeforliterature , #sobig is much bigger than it's ambiguous title, early on described as the nickname given to the son of the protagonist Selina Peake De Jong who arrived as the school teacher of a Dutch farming community, married a local widow farmer and soon the mother to the title character. Located about 30 miles South of Chicago, farmer Pervus De Jong grows the same vegetables as all the truck farmers of the community that are carried every few days to be sold in Chicago's Haymarket for the slimmest of profit. During his life, Pervus resists her.modern farming ideas derived from scientific journals. After the untimely death of her husband, Selina is forced to take his place in the field and the market however she also puts her ideas into practice making for a more productive farm. As she toils, she strives to provide a better education for her son, not wanting to confine him to the farm which through the early 20th Century and through World War I, son Dirk is prompted by a beautiful and wealthy love interest to strive for success rather than his mother's ambition for him to pursue beauty rather than wealth.

Quite by coincidence, as I was reading this novel which was the 1926 #pultizerprizewinnerforfiction , I was also reading the 1925 #nobelprizeforliterature #themother by Italian author #graziadeledda whose general theme was very similar about single mother trying to secure a happy future for her son. As with The Mother, So Big's ending surprised me and both books made me want to read more by these amazing women.

Easy going

Kind of slow, nothing to really keep you interested or wanting to come back to