The Beauty of Cabbages in the Eye of One Beholder

Title: So Big

Author: Edna Ferber

 

After deciding that we wanted to read a classic, but unable to agree on the precise meaning of "classic," we decided that anything qualifies as long as it was written "awhile ago." Enter Edna Ferber. A bestselling novelist, short story writer and playwright of her day, Edna Ferber won the Pulitzer Prize for So Big in 1924. A member of the Algonquin Round Table, she was known for her strong female protagonists, a feature atypical of her contemporaries.

 

So Big is the story of Selena Dejong, a young woman determined to make her own way in the world, and her son Dirk, nicknamed "So Big" as a child. A devotee of beauty in all of its forms, Selena moves from a life of excitement and ideas with a ne're-do-well father to a hardscrabble life as the wife of a Dutch truck farmer southwest of a growing Chicago. Throughout, she embraces the beauty of life as she attempts to instill this same passion into her son.

Insight and Opinions

A few of our number who prefer contemporary fiction grumbled their way into the book only to discover a wholly satisfying reading experience. Both Ann Patchett and Charles Baxter are strong proponents of reading and reviving "lost" books like this one, and having read it, we have to agree.

+ Liz said that a book like this, written at the time of its story, contains a richness not possible to achieve by even the most talented writer of historical fiction, however well it's researched. There is an offhand nature to the simple details of the protagonist -- what she wears, how she bathes, how she moves from place to place, what she cooks and eats -- that anchors the reader solidly in another time.

Chris Zooming while zooming

+ Ferber has the habit of writing about the present moment and its consequences for the future, all within the same sentence -- something not seen in the works of contemporary authors. Margy rightly pointed out that a careful read of the first chapter gives the reader the entire story. It's worth going back to reread the first chapter after finishing the book to witness Ferber's mastery.

+ Linda pointed out a key moment in the text, when Selena first sees the vast fields of cabbages and tells the stoic Dutch farmer who is driving her to the farm "the cabbages are beautiful." It's clear he thinks this is ridiculous and it's a comment that will be repeated back to her for many years by the locals, as if it's her name. But Ferber writes "Life has no weapons against a woman like that."

 

Nothing better than a cozy fire.

+ Ferber writes with humor and insight, capturing the stern and sober nature of the Dutch farmers at the time and playing with images. In her hand-carved shoes, Selena's "feet were as large as minnows in a rowboat." Mr. Hempl's advice: "About mistakes, you got to make your own. If you try to keep people from making theirs, they get mad."

+ We wondered about the name of the book. On the one hand, "So Big" is Dirk's nickname, so should this not be his story and not Selena's? Jocey's view is that it's a commentary on great aspirations (Selena's) but also a commentary on Dirk. Yes, he does become "big" as one of the wealthiest young men in Chicago, but his bigness is ultimately hollow and small while it's his mother who is "big."

 

+ Reading a book written long ago teaches us much about daily life, but can also be jarring when certain words no longer considered acceptable pop up on the page. Be duly warned.

+ The ending was a bit controversial to our group as some felt the book has no real ending, turning the page to find out "oops, wait, what?" But others felt that, despite the lack of resolution, the reader knows what will happen to Dirk, Selena and Rolfe.

Other Things Unrelated to this Book

 + There was a hopeless kerfuffle about a series of greeting cards we were attempting to sign as a group, but we won't go into that here as it would spoil the surprise for those who will be receiving the cards. At least theoretically.

 + We did veer from the topic a bit and spent some time talking about trophy wives and what that's all about. 

Charming hostess with book nerds.

 

+ We all agreed we like to read books that don't make us nervous and we wondered if it's possible for books to sneak into your house at night because sometimes you find one that you have no idea where it came from since YOU certainly wouldn't have bought such a thing.

Next Up

For our November book, we will read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.