Winesburg, Ohio

By (author) Anderson Sherwood
Short description/annotation
A landmark work of American naturalism and a priceless chronicle of rural life, Winesburg, Ohio has been compared to the writings of Turgenev, Chekhov, Dreiser and Twain, and hugely influenced authors such as Steinbeck, Hemingway and Faulkner.
Description
Portraying the characters and events of a small Midwestern town at the end of the nineteenth century, Winesburg, Ohio is a chronological cycle of stories which reads like an episodic novel. Centring on George Willard, a young local reporter with big-city aspirations, and his conversations with fellow inhabitants, the book gives voice to a disparate cast of figures and lays bare the constraints and struggles of life in a small community.
Review quote
"The father of my generation of American writers and the tradition of American writing which our successors will carry on." - William Faulkner
Biographical note
The son of a day labourer, Sherwood Anderson (1876 - 1941), spent his youth and early adulthood working in various jobs across the Midwest, before devoting himself to fiction. He went on to become one of the most influential writers of the early twentieth century, notably for his short stories.