- Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Bantam Classics; Reprint edition (Oct 1 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0553214594
- ISBN-13: 978-0553214598
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.7 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Over the pictures, the vases, the old brown plush rocking-chairs and the stool, over the three gilt chairs, over the new chintz-covered easy chair and the gray velure sofa over everything everywhere, was the familiar coating of smoke and grime... Yet here was not fault of housewifery; the curse could not be lifted, as the ingrained smudges permanent on the once white woodwork proved. The grime was perpetually renewed; scrubbing only ground it in." from the novel
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Book Description
Determined to up their social status, Mrs. Adams and her daughter Alice make poignant, hilarious attempts to impose themselves on high society. Mrs. Adams even emotionally blackmails her husband into leaving his job for a risky venture. This penetrating portrait of a wife who wants more, a husband torn by conflicting loyalties, and a social-climbing daughter is a compelling satire iced with a comic veneer and served by a brilliant observer of American life.
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First Sentence
THE patient, an old-fashioned man, thought the nurse made a mistake in keeping both of the windows open, and her sprightly disregard of his protests added something to his hatred of her. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
THE patient, an old-fashioned man, thought the nurse made a mistake in keeping both of the windows open, and her sprightly disregard of his protests added something to his hatred of her. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very cute,
By A Customer
This review is from: Alice Adams (Mass Market Paperback)
Alice Adams was funny and definitely some good quality writing. At first I thought it might be too old-fashioned since it was written in the early 1900's, but when I read it I was able to compare Alice's desire to be popular to teenage girls today. My only negative thought about this book is that some characters especially the mother, repeated things a lot. The mother had several lines that she said at least 5 times throughout the book, and that was somewhat annoying. Otherwise the book was great!
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Poor little Alice" surprised me,
By tenordan (rural, old fashioned, small town Maine) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Alice Adams (Paperback)
I disagree with the Amazon customer who claims there are no heroes in Alice Adams. The hero is of course the heroine herself. Alice is sweet and lively. Yes, she is overly concerned with the typical "girly" things, especially at the beginning of the book, but she shows promising growth and strength of character. I have read a few other books by Booth Tarkington. I wouldn't put Alice Adams quite on the same level with The Magnificent Ambersons, but I liked it better than The Turmiol, which has an unconvincing happy ending. I got near the end of Alice Adams, and I started to dread the final chapter. I thought that there would either be another sappy, fake, happy ending, or it would be depressing. I was pleasantly surprised- it was neither! This is an old fashioned book, of course. You can tell it was written in 1921 by the way African-Americans are spoken about. But that is a reality of the times.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Tarkington Novel,
By A Customer
This review is from: Alice Adams (Hardcover)
One of the better Tarkington tales I've read. An upbeat and at times humorous story about a middle class family and their two early 20-year-old children ( one boy and one girl ). The girl, Alice Adams, is the focus of the story, as she struggles to be liked by the town's society folks. She doesn't have the social prestige nor the money to attract many beaus.This leads to turmoil, and Mrs. Adams tells her husband to leave the mediocre paying job he's had all his life to start his own company so they can be rich and pay their children "advantages". He does this, after many trepidations, but the basis of his newfound business is a stolen glue formula from his previous employer. This ultimately leads to his demise. There is a bit more to this story, but all in all, it is a story of class envy, snobbery, and greed. Tarkington's main point, however, seems to be that every dark tunnel of life ultimately has some other exit that inevatibly lead to light -- as even in the Adams's darkest hour their was hope yet.
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