Dreiser and Wolfe are the only American writers whose works I've read in any sort of quantity and I'm sure I've missed much that is worthwhile from other writers. I've read most of Wolfe and found it very absorbing; at his worst (in my opinion) when he attempts the occasional purple passage, the bulk of his work -which apparently is , to a large extent, autobiographical - is down-to-earth and earthy. Anybody easily offended shouldn't go near it (he uses the N word over two hundred times in the course of his writing, not, I hasten to add, maliciously or degradingly but because he reflects the society of his time). It's difficult for me to recommend one title as I've enjoyed them all (and they are all written on very similar lines) but you might like to try "Of Time and the River" or "You can't go home again" as a starting-point. I read them all as books, but, if you're short of shelf-space and have a reader, you can get all his works very cheaply in Kindle form.
By the way, did you know that the Laurence Olivier film "Carrie" was based on a Dreiser novel ?
I suppose that, being a great admirer of Joseph Holbrooke's music I should also be an avid reader of Poe, but I can really only take him in small quantities. I've been much more inclined to read the work of another of Joe's enthusiasms, Zola.
At the moment my piano playing has been restricted due to a tennis elbow -and I don't even play tennis ! I have prepared (and played individual numbers from) Holbrooke's Grande Suite Moderne and am hoping to recover enough to make a home recording of it soon so , if and when, I'll let you have a copy of it if you're interested. I'd also like to battle age and infirmities by including it in a lunchtime recital at one of the London churches if they'll have me. Like most of Holbrooke's piano music it's very taxing to play and I'll have to be careful to choose the rest of the programme with one eye on not over-exerting what little technique I have left. Certain pieces by Henryk Pachulski would probably fit the bill - elegant, refined and charming music which is largely neglected. As you probably know -and to give it a tenuous relevance to this particular thread - the Pachulski family were closely connected to the estate of Madame von Meck but it was probably Henryk's brother, a violinist who played chamber music with the young Debussy, who was instrumental in engineering the break that Tchaikovsky had with his patron rather than Henryk himself as an internet article claims.
Jeffrey - good to hear from you. Have for years been looking for knowledgeable recomms for reading the Great American Novel. I like Dreiser's loquacious style - backwards and forwards over the same sentiment. Grateful if you wd recommend the best reads among the Tom Wolfe novels .... and why. Still have your private cassettes of the Holbrooke piano music which served to introduce me to much of his unusual keyboard work. Do drop me a separate email - via John Quinn or Len. Regards. Rob
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