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Loading... Ramsey Milhollandby Booth Tarkington
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Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) was one of the most popular writers of the early 20th Century, who first achieved acclaim with his historical romance "Monsieur Beaucaire" (1900). But his more characteristic work was found in such novels as "The Gentleman from Indiana" (1899), "The Conquest of Canaan" (1905), and the trilogy consisting of "The Turmoil" (1915), "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1918) and "The Midlander" (1921). He won two Pulitzer Prizes for novels, for "The Magnificent Ambersons" and for "Alice Adams" (1921). "The Magnificent Ambersons" was memorably filmed by Orson Welles in 1942. Tarkington is also noted for several charming, idealized novels about childhood and adolescence, such as "Penrod" (1914) and "Seventeen" (1916), which occur squarely in the middle of the line of literary development that leads from Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" up to Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine." They are classics of period Americana. No library descriptions found. |
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At first introduction to the reader, Ramsey Milholland is an ordinary boy of the age of Tarkington’s famous character Penrod. Academically marginal, he deeply resents his studious classmate Dora Yocum. The plot traces Ramsey into adolescence and then to college, where he is none-too- pleased to find the hated Dora also enrolled. As the war rages in Europe, international events begin to intrude into college life. In a truly hilarious episode, Ramsey is required to participate in a debate on the war against Dora, who takes the pacifistic position. He is unprepared and utterly out of his depth, and his desperate attempts to articulate coherent sentences against his sharp – witted opponent had me laughing out loud. The disastrous debate is by far the most entertaining part of the book. The story traces Ramsay’s subsequent growth, his rapprochement with Dora, and his eventual enlistment in the army. Dora, as a pacifist, comes to see the errors of her position and to support the war herself. And in this way, Tarkington dismisses the anti- war position.
Notwithstanding the book’s nationalistic tone and political motivation, the story has some very good moments. Far from Tarkington’s best, it is somewhat dated in perspective, and its political message is heavy- handed. However, I enjoyed the book anyway, and have marked favored passages to return to. ( )