Sot-Weed Factor: Amazon.ca: John Barth: Books

Product Description

Considered by critics to be Barth's most distinguished novel, The Sot-Weed Factor has acquired the status of a modern classic. Set in the late 1600s, it recounts the chaotic odyssey of the hapless, ungainly Ebeneezer Cooke. Cooke is sent to the new world to oversee his father's tobacco business and to record the struggles of the Maryland colony in an epic poem. On his mission, he is captured by pirates and Indians; loses his father's estate to roguish impostors; falls in love with a former prostitute;is nearly robbed of his virginity, which he is (almost)determined to protect; and meets a gallery of treacherous characters who continually switch identities. The Sot-Weed Factor is a hilarious, bawdy tribute to all the most insidious human vices with lasting relevance for readers of all times.

From the Publisher

This is Barth's most distinguished masterpiece. This modern classic is a hilarious tribute to all the most insidious human vices, with a hero who is "one of the most diverting...to roam the world since Candide" (Time ). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

38 Reviews

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars I remembered this book for 39 YEARS!, Nov 8 2007

By	Art Vandalay "The Architect" (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews

I remembered this book for 39 YEARS! I was about 16 years old when I read it, on the strong recommendation of one of my teachers at the Woodstock Country School in Vermont. It captivated me and it still does!
This book is magical and it will sweep you away, back into a totally insane Colonial period with scoundrels and 'SALVAGES' behind every bush! You will be very confused about U.S. history after you read it, but perhaps that is a good thing. We should all be less certain of history, for it is just one story, not the whole truth. Barth may be right about everything or nothing, we will never know, for not one of us was there at the time.
I am going to read it again now and I know it will be just as good, maybe better, the 2nd time around. If you you don't read this book right now, you will be very sorry. Or maybe you will not be sorry, but I will personally feel sorry for your loss of a wonderful, silly, outrageous adventure in the Cheseapeake Bay!!! Watch out behind you, there is someone there!

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3.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious but not a classic!, Feb 6 2007

By	A. Paeth (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sot-Weed Factor (Paperback)

This was a very funny book that is worth the effort it takes to plow through the somewhat difficult text.

Pro's... Humor, historical satire, educational, cutting edge metafiction evolving around the author's inane imagination.

Con's... excessively bawdy, too much potty humor, Ebenezer's dullwitted idiocy, repetitive cliffhangers (Burlingame's identity, Anna's relationship with Henry,and Malden's ruin) with too many 360 degree twists to the plot! Unbelievable happenstance, coincidence and irony throughout.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Outrageously funny, May 24 2004

By	R. E. James "mostly Libertarian" (Longwood, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Sot-Weed Factor (Paperback)

This is the only book of this size (1200 pages) that I have read three times. I first read it in 1972 and just read it again last year. It is definitely NOT a "beach" read, and requires concentration, but is well worth it. After this, I read two or three more by Barth, and was quite disappointed.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Not much to add to other glowing reviews...
... but this and GILES GOAT-BOY are masterpieces of deconstructed Americana. The depth of Pynchon, the wit of Heller and Roth, the linguistic brilliance of, well, Barth: it's all... Read more

Published on Sep 24 2003 by The Zen Archer

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sot Weed Factor
Everything that could be said about the literary genius of this book is contained in the other reviews here - so l will just add that when l read it over 30 years ago l thought it... Read more

Published on Jul 11 2003 by Joanie Gray

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, Funny and Spellbinding
I know it's supposed to spoof historical novels, but I didn't read "The Sot-Weed Factor" that way at all. Read more

Published on Feb 11 2003 by Dan Witte

4.0 out of 5 stars Close, but not quite a cigar.
On my trip through the rugged post-modern landscape I chose this book as my introduction to John Barth. Read more

Published on Jan 2 2003 by B. Gone