I have read, and re-read this book several times.

Although it may not be quite on par with Look Homeward, Angel, Of Time and the River is still an utterly mesmerizing and life-changing read.

The way the author weaves the story and creates vivid characters is truly remarkable.

I still vividly remember the death scene of Mr. Gant in Chapter 33. It is one of the most powerful and emotionally charged scenes in all of 20th century literature.

The description is so detailed and the emotions are so palpable that it leaves a lasting impact on the reader.

Book IV Proteus: The City is among my absolute favorite passages in all of literature.

The portrayal of the city and its inhabitants is both realistic and poetic.

I have read this book numerous times and I have no doubt that I will do so again in the future.

It is a book that I would highly recommend to anyone who loves great literature.

It has the power to transport you to another time and place and make you feel as if you are a part of the story.

A powerful and magnificent book that is a joy to slow-read. It is a fictionalized autobiography that takes the reader on a journey as the author goes to Harvard, teaches, and travels to England and France. The writing is simply amazing. When he describes the contents of a refrigerator, it makes me feel hungry. When he writes about the friends he treats poorly, I feel ashamed. Almost every paragraph contains a noteworthy, profound, or lyric passage. It is truly a remarkable work that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

This is a book that every young man (or person) should read.

I first came across this remarkable piece of literature during my freshman year of college.

It is an absolute masterpiece that has had a profound impact on countless individuals.

Not only did it serve as an inspiration to the great Jack Kerouac, but it has also touched the hearts and minds of anyone else who has had the pleasure of reading Wolfe's work.

The book's vivid descriptions, powerful emotions, and unique narrative style make it a truly unforgettable experience.

It delves deep into the human condition, exploring themes of love, loss, identity, and the search for meaning in life.

Whether you are a young person just starting out on your journey or someone who has lived a full life, this book has something to offer.

It will make you laugh, cry, and think, and it will leave you with a newfound appreciation for the power of literature.

So, if you haven't already read this book, I highly recommend that you do so.

You won't be disappointed.

A little railroad station stands there.

There is a lot of noise, small talks, and farewells going on.

Eugene Gant, no longer a fledgling, leaves his native nest and flies into the wide outer world.

‘Harvard, eh!’ George Pentland says again, slowly looking his cousin over from head to foot. ‘Son, you’re flyin’ high, you are!… Now don’t fly so high you never get back to earth again!… You know the rest of us who didn’t go to Harvard still have to walk around upon the ground down here,’ he remarks. ‘So don’t fly too high or we may not even be able to see you!’

Eugene is full of expectations and hopes.

The world is huge.

What awaits him in all those unknown places?

He sees the furious streets of life with their unending flood-tide of a million faces, the enormous library with its million books. Or is it just one moment in the flood-tide of the city, at five o’clock, a voice, a face, a brawny lusty girl with a smiling mouth who passes him in an instant at the Park Street station, stands printed in the strong October wind for a moment – breast, belly, arm, and thigh, and all her brawny lustihood – and then has gone into the man-swarm, lost forever, never to be found?

Reconnoitering, elaborating, expounding, exaggerating, embellishing, Thomas Wolfe surrounds his hero with grotesque personages.

He makes him meet all sorts of characters – naïve, wise, self-serving, selfless.

In the university, Eugene studies dramaturgy.

Simple minds – which is the majority of the world – are obsessed with the inane idea that if only they knew some magic formula of living, their life would’ve been perfect.

Yes, for the most part, the members of Professor Hatcher’s class belong to this great colony of the lost Americans. They belong to that huge tribe of all the damned and lost who feel that everything is going to be all right with them if they can only take a trip, or learn a rule, or meet a person. They belong to that futile, desolate, and forsaken horde who feel that all will be well with their lives, that all the power they lack themselves will be supplied, and all the anguish, fury, and unrest, the confusion and the dark damnation of man’s soul can magically be healed if only they eat bran for breakfast, secure an introduction to a celebrated actress.

He tries to write plays but doesn’t succeed.

He is disappointed.

He goes to Europe.

He becomes acquainted with many strange people.

His love is unanswered.

His friend turns out to be a different person from the one he supposed him to be.

He is disenchanted with the world and existence.

Man’s youth is a wonderful thing: it is so full of anguish and of magic and he never comes to know it as it is, until it has gone from him forever.

And that is the reason why, when youth is gone, every man will look back upon that period of his life with infinite sorrow and regret. It is the bitter sorrow and regret of a man who knows that once he had a great talent and wasted it, of a man who knows that once he had a great treasure and got nothing from it, of a man who knows that he had strength enough for everything and never used it.

Time is a river we swim in and it carries us down to the bottomless ocean.

I could not pass page 17.

It was as if an invisible force was holding me back, preventing me from moving forward.

I felt like I was paying for all my sins.

The weight of my past mistakes seemed to be crushing me as I struggled to read on.

This book is painful.

Every word feels like a stab to my heart, every sentence a reminder of my shortcomings.

I want to put it down, to escape from this agony, but something compels me to continue.

Maybe it's the hope that there is some hidden truth within these pages, some lesson that I need to learn.

Or maybe it's just my stubbornness, my refusal to give up.

Whatever the reason, I find myself trapped in this cycle of pain and perseverance, unable to break free.

He is widely regarded as the greatest American writer, yet paradoxically, he seems to lack the ability to tell a coherent story. His writing appears to meander on and on without a clear plan or direction. Take, for instance, the story of a young man who travels to Harvard, then to England, and finally to Paris, spending much of his time partying there. He seems to think of everything under the sun and attempts to describe every single detail. While I hold him in the highest regard and respect him immensely, reading his books can be an exhausting experience. In fact, he is almost as bad as Joyce, although I would argue that no one could truly be that bad. It's a strange and somewhat humorous situation.

I purchased this copy that I am currently reading from an online used bookseller as it is out of print.

So far, the book has presented two surprises to me. Firstly, it is old and falling apart, yet I paid $27 for it. It is a first edition, sixth printing from 1935. The pages are yellowed, and the binding is coming off as I read it. However, I was astonished to discover that Wolfe had written a dedication and signed it in 1935.

Last weekend, I was in Boston for the very first time. As I was reading, Eugene Gant, Wolfe's character, was also there. Quite unexpectedly, we were visiting several of the same spots. It was a remarkable coincidence that added an extra layer of depth to my reading experience.

I am truly enjoying this old and tattered book, despite its physical condition. The surprises it has brought and the connection I have felt with the story and the place have made it a unique and珍贵的 find.

This novel takes up the story right where Look Homeward, Angel concludes.

Wolfe's penmanship in this work is every bit as lush and detailed as that found in any of his other novels.

It features one of the most profoundly moving death scenes in the entire canon of American literature. The death of William Oliver Gant, the father of the novel's protagonist, Eugene Gant, is a moment that lingers in the reader's mind.

The description of his passing is so vivid and emotional that it evokes a wide range of feelings.

It makes the reader truly understand the significance of this loss and the impact it has on the characters and the story as a whole.

Wolfe's ability to bring such a scene to life is a testament to his skill as a writer.

It is this kind of masterful storytelling that makes this novel a must-read for anyone interested in American literature.

This book is truly exceptional.

It is well worth every page of its extensive length.

The author has managed to create a world within these pages that is both captivating and engaging.

From the very first sentence, you are drawn into the story and cannot help but be swept along by the plot.

The characters are vividly described and you quickly become invested in their lives and struggles.

The writing style is流畅 and easy to read, yet also manages to convey complex emotions and ideas.

Whether you are a fan of fiction or non-fiction, this book has something to offer.

It is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good book that will keep them entertained and informed.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read.

It is a literary masterpiece that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page.

4.5 out of 5

This rating of 4.5 out of 5 is truly remarkable. It indicates a high level of quality and satisfaction. When a product or service receives such a rating, it means that it has exceeded the expectations of the majority of its users or customers.

Perhaps it is the excellent performance, the attention to detail, or the outstanding customer service that has contributed to this impressive score. It could also be a combination of all these factors.

Whatever the reason, a 4.5 out of 5 rating is a great achievement and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the people behind the product or service. It gives potential new users or customers confidence in choosing it, knowing that it has been highly recommended by others.

In conclusion, a 4.5 out of 5 rating is something to be proud of and should be used as a motivation to continue improving and providing an even better experience in the future.

A Toast in Memory of Lord Wolfe:

"Of wandering for ever!"

After these words, and through the passage of time, Lord Wolfe raises what surely isn't his first glass of whisky, vigorously saying:

"And the earth again!"

Cheers.

Lord Wolfe's words seem to carry a sense of longing and adventure. The idea of wandering forever implies a life of exploration and discovery, unbound by the constraints of routine. His exclamation of "And the earth again!" might suggest a renewal of his connection with the world, a reaffirmation of his love for the natural beauty and vastness that surrounds him. As he raises his glass and utters the simple word "Cheers," it is as if he is toasting not only to his own experiences but also to the shared human spirit of adventure and the pursuit of the unknown.

This is the sequel to Look Homeward Angel, which was one of my favorite books in high school. I reread it for the April challenge on one of my Shelfari groups.

It chronicles the life of Eugene Gant through college, graduate school, teaching, and a trip to Europe. I started reading this right after the earlier novel but gave up halfway. It was a letdown compared to the first one. While Wolfe's descriptions of childhood and adolescence were excellent, his college life descriptions didn't resonate with me as much.

This month, I picked it up again for another challenge and liked it better. However, it has the same flaws as the earlier book, even more so. It's overwritten, trying too hard to be profound and poetic but not always succeeding. It can be verbose and repetitious, losing the narrative thread at times.

In my high school paper on Look Homeward Angel, I compared the novel to James Joyce. This book is even more strongly and openly influenced by Ulysses, with section headings from mythology. Like Ulysses, it attempts to generalize an ordinary life into a book about all times and places, but Wolfe isn't as much of a word artist as Joyce, and the everyday can seem ordinary or even banal.

The Joycean influence on the style leads to some of the best and worst writing. The middle chapters are a bit boring, which is where I got stuck the first time. Unlike Joyce, this book needs to be read quickly for the full effect, not meditated on for details. The second time around, I related more to the college life descriptions, like the "Faustian" desire to read everything, the feel of the city for a rural person, and the irrelevance of certain courses. Harvard seemed more like Columbia this time. It won't be a favorite, but I'm glad to have read it, especially considering its 912 pages of small print. I feel a sense of accomplishment.