My mom and Grandma passed on a bunch of Reader's Digest Condensed books to me. Several of them have been real jewels and I have not made the time to record them here. One was about a convent in England and another an historical novel set in Elizabethan times. Of course I can't remember the titles and I passed them back to my mama already. an historical novel, tee hee.
I believe I have only read one other Edna Ferber and that was set in Seattle but I really enjoyed it. I have seen the movie Cimarron and the musical Showboat, both based on her works.
EF really is a master of character development and I was pulled in right away. Plus, there was a striking familiarity in the ranch culture that she portrays of Texas to my own childhood ranch culture although mine was here in California. It was like sneaking into the lives of my ancestors (on all three sides - throw in an adopted parent) in the early 20th century and getting to spy on them.
She manages to convey some of the patriarchal nonsense, the racial tensions and superiorities, without detracting from the grit and romance of the Texan pioneer spirit. It really is all I admire and cringe at about my own heritage. Perhaps this is why I'm sitting down to write about this book at 6am on a Sunday morning.
Perhaps I related to the female protagonist who wants to be an intellectual equal, have the freedom to come and go as she pleases, but wants to be rescued at the same time. I'm not entirely sure all of those are possible.
She doesn't villify anyone as far as I could perceive which is really in her credit. Most people have crusty belief systems because they have never had the chance to have their ideas challenged.
Descendents of pioneers who wrestled with the elements and eked out a meager existence grapple with the sudden onset of oil money. Ranchers who had previously sunk all their cash into their operations, build ginormous tasteless homes that the protagonist (of an old southern family who I liken to English gentry - refined, poor, intellectual, enjoying the finer things) views as massive shells of crassness.
There is something about the pragmatism that Leslie is drawn to however. Before the story flashes back to her entry into the Texan scene through her marriage, the reader witnesses her at middle age, a member of the community - one who is accepted although she will never quite fit the breed. She likes her Texan counterpart - the neighboring ranch wife who was once in love with her own husband. He usurped the mold by marrying a "foreigner" instead of the fleshy, direct, simple, male-centric neighbor. But although the reader feels that Leslie is superior: in looks, judgment, and sensibility, there is a real-lifeness about their ability to get along. In small towns and rural areas, one cannot be choosy about your company - and you need each other.
The dynamic between Bick and his sister Luz is also interesting. She is domineering and rides rough shod over everyone. She somehow earned the right to overcome the female limitations through her horse prowess and because she never married. He resents her but they make it work somehow.
Uncle Bawley
Jordan and young Luz
Bob Dietz - modern ideas about land management
Jett Rink - chip on his shoulder employee who strikes it rich through oil and becomes a bully landbaron and mover and shaker - has a secret crush on Leslie over the years.
