Years of Grace

As I've noted in Pulitzers of this age, the writing was incredibly simple. A very simple story - but one I liked. It was about Chicago from the 1890's to around the late 1920's. As an added bonus, it took place in my actual neighborhood! So I dug that, obviously. The writing though, was almost just a list of things that happened. Like, "Agnes went to the store. She bought cake there. She put the cake in the bag. She brought the cake home. She ate the cake” If this had been one of the first Pulitzers I'd read from that time I would probably have hated it. But I'm used the simple writing style and realize they used to award the Pulitzer more on story than writing style, as they do now.

This novel by Margaret Ayer Barnes is the final book I've read for the Book Awards Reading Challenge. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1931. I had never actually heard of Years of Grace, or its author. This was a totally delightful and readable book.

It tells the story of Jane Ward Carver. Jane is born to a wealthy Chicago family in the late 1800's. Years of Grace follows the first fifty years of Jane's life. She matures from schoolgirl, to debutante, to wife, mother and grandmother. As Jane grows, the world changes around her. Her husband fights in the Spanish American War; her son-in-law in World War I.

The story is told through Jane's relationships with others. The sections of the book are titled with other people's names. Jane is a proper show more young woman, whose life is determined by her parents' wishes. When her parents disapprove of her first boyfriend, she is allowed to attend Bryn Mawr College for two years; then she must return home and become a proper debutante. When Jane does marry, she spends all her summers vacationing at the summer home of her in-laws. She maintains strong friendships with her childhood friends, and rarely ventures outside her social circle.

Jane is, however, a principled, passionate, intelligent woman. She struggles to reconcile her feelings with her familial and social obligations. Jane is, of course, perplexed by the behavior of her children as they grow older.

This novel is especially interesting in its depiction of a vanished time. It is beautifully written, and I highly recommend it. show less

This is a beautiful, charming novel well-deserving of its Pulitzer award for 1931.

Jane Ward is a young girl at the turn of the 20th century in upper class Chicago. She falls in love at the tender age of 19 with Andre, the artist, marries Stephen, the sensible provider, and later contemplates a life with Jimmy, the musician, but stays with her husband, Stephen. Jane's journey through life is a story about the path not taken. Her children, in contrast, take those paths not taken much to her surprise and disappointment. At times, the story plods a bit, but it's in step with Jane's life which she sees as dull a times, but this only further illustrating the novel's themes which were heavily influenced by the demise of the Victorian era.

If show more you can find this book, read it! show less

A good read to reflect on life. Not super exciting, but enough to hold my attention. It is the book that that is referred to numerous times in Violets of March. It peaked my curiosity enough to buy it on eBay since it is out of print. I enjoyed the outlook of Jane as a teenager, married with children adult and then elder and her thoughts on her life and the lives of her children and parents and how it changes from one generation to the next.

A good read to reflect on life. Not super exciting, but enough to hold my attention. It is the book that that is referred to numerous times in Violets of March. It peaked my curiosity enough to buy it on eBay since it is out of print. I enjoyed the outlook of Jane as a teenager, married with children adult and then elder and her thoughts on her life and the lives of her children and parents and how it changes from one generation to the next.

543. Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes (read 31 May 1958) (Pulitzer fiction prize for 1931) This was the winner of the Pulitzer prize for fiction for 1931, so I read it. I have read every such winner.

Franklin Mint