Look Homeward, Angel

Summary

The works of Thomas Wolfe earned him a legacy as one of the very best American writers. Standing alongside literary luminaries such as Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and Faulkner, this unique genius delivers a largely autobiographical novel that is a feast of wordplay and sumptuous descriptions.

Eugene Gant pines for a more expansive life after being born to a father whose bouts of maniacal raving are fueled by a prodigious appetite for drink. As he makes the first steps toward manhood, Eugene finds his early life informed by the constraints of society, exemplified best by the vivid characters of his fellow townsfolk.

Interestingly enough, a number of people in Wolfe’s own town took great umbrage to the presentation of characters who struck a little too close to home. Look Homeward, Angel is firmly established—and justly celebrated—in the American Romantic tradition.