'A Place in the Sun' is a remake of 'An American Tragedy' made in 1931 directed by Joseph von Sternberg & starring Sylvia Sydney, Phillip Holmes & Frances Dee.
I thought this was a really good summery of the story and I really enjoyed this video. I haven't read this book in around 20 years or so. I should pick it up again. I do hope you'll do more book reports in the future. I'm loving your channel. :)
My extended family are from the Kansas City area. I was born there but moved when I was 2, so I only know KC from family stories and the occasional visit. I love old literature that describes how it was. I would like to read this sometime.... I'm a new subscriber, so I plan to binge watch your channel today! 😄
Your questions about his immaturity are very valid questions. I have the same questions! I agree with you about the courtroom scenes. They really are too long. I'm about to reread the book since hearing you talk about it but I think he really did fall far away from all the good and proper things he learned in his childhood.
This was based on a real incident in early 1900. Chester Gillette was the guy who killed his girlfriend because she got pregnant and he wanted better things from life than being trapped in marriage and poverty.
Haven't read it but I've seen "A Place in the Sun" many, many times. It's really very concerned with class distinction and greed, imo. Loosely based on a true story. Must read it now! lol Thank you. Stay safe.
Read it when I was 15, just thought the story was interesting and sad, but almost 2 decades later, as I slowly learned American history, I knew what period of social development the U.S has gone through in the early 20th century, now I understand the story more, the same kind of stories happens a lot when a country facing rapid development, it's just inevitable
could you do a video talking about the U.S. presidential election of 1920, 1924 or 1928? Plus great video mate, I'll try to get a copy of this book and read it for myself
More election/president videos are definitely on my list. The 1920 election is especially interesting to me. Though because it's a very dense topic, it will take a lot more research than my normal videos. But it will happen!
I just finished reading AAT & it was fantastic and earned one of my seldom given 5 stars on goodreads! I enjoyed your analysis & review. I was left pondering about the "Clyde" in all of us, and the never-ending struggle of good vs. evil. I have ordered the 1951 movie version and am looking forward to comparing it with the book.
Great video. Was a flash to have you review this book. Read this because my girlfriend advised me to read it. We talked about it and I enjoyed it. Was a tragedy. I haven’t thought about it in many years. Thanks for reminding me of a great book. The boy did wrong and paired for it.
Very enjoyable review and video (nice music too; perfect mood setting). I see this is from 2 years ago, so I hope you went on to do some more reviews of books of the 20s. As for the book itself, I've never read it (nor heard of it beyond one reference) but was always curious ever since decades ago hearing an Our Miss Brooks radioplay based on it (sort of) and where it's referenced. But I never guess the actual book had so many layers and was so fascinating. I also can't help but picture how life and would've been for the characters just so many years down the way once the Depression really kicked in.
I just found your channel because I am currently listening to the audiobook for this one. 100 pages down, 786 to go! I loved your video. Very informative and you give a good summary and background information as well as commentary. I'm interested in your channel, so I subscribed. Take care!
I read this book years ago and felt like it was a morality tale where the author doesn't tell you what to think and you're left to make your own decision. As I remember it, Clyde had realized he wasn't capable of killing Roberta when she jumped up and toppled the boat, so there was a moment in which it all might have worked out somehow, but then fate gave a nudge. Thus it was a tragedy. I've also read Sister Carrie and Jenny Gerhardt. The latter was forgettable, but Sister Carrie was amazing and I've often wondered if it was the inspiration for A Star is Born.
I enjoyed your review. I had always wanted to see the 1931 film based on this novel by von Sternberg, but I don't believe it's available. I had to settle on A Place In The Sun. But the brilliant acting skill of Montgomery Clift make his character sympathetic even though his actions were reprehensible. Thank you for your channel. You're doing a great job.
I came across the mention of this book in another book, that I've just began. It's called trials of the monkey, by Matthew Chapman a descendant of Charles Darwin, which has been most delightful and paints a picture of a time gone by. Yes, our books are nothing but vowels n consonants borrowed from the ether, but reading this book reminds me they are nothing...and Everything.
Loved the Story of Clydes youth till the accident. The various attempts to get rid of the baby via doctors dragged for me, way too long chapters are another reading obstacle. The plot-substance is good for about 350 pages. therefore it drangged for me, 2/3 of the novel.
I don't understand why he wouldn't just marry the girl. But I have said that hundreds of times when hearing about men in real life doing what he did! Seriously, with the benefit of hindsight I would bet that Clyde wished that he could go back and marry the woman as opposed to going to the electric chair! It's so easy to do the wrong thing. And it's so easy to do the right thing. It sounds like Clyde treated everybody in his life that should have mattered like crap.
Well, I ended reading AAT today. I cryed. X"/ They judged Klyde for his cruel, cold-blooded assassination! We know that he killed Roberta in panic, fear and cofusion. And then they shamed him, disgraced for the whole country, put him into place where people go crazy from fear and grief and they killed him really CRUELLY and COLD-BLOODED. He had to lie to his mom at last their meeting that he believes in God. He couldn't share his real feelings. He died in fear, regrets, doubts and great loneliness by machine of jurisdiction. I red it in translation.(sorry for my English)😅 Novel made me feel indignation of this crazy world.
If anything good came out of the pandemic, it’s the fact that people started reading again! New bookstores popped up in Madrid and hopefully other cities too. Well, it was my second time around to read this book after many years and it’s a masterpiece! It’s a true revelation of the American value system created by (for some) an easy access to wealth and for to others just a dream. The wealthy are allowed to be eccentric and outrageous while the modest classes have to follow the line often proscribed by the religious communities. Dreiser described very well how that plays on everyone’s psyche. I don’t mind the book being long as it’s well written and interesting all along. I think it should be on the obligatory reading list in the US schools.
What Dreiser seems to be critiquing in this story is how Capitalism was eating at the soul of America in the 1920's, something that still continues in advanced form even today. By the 1920's, the unbridled greed that had created the business giants of the Gilded Age had trickled down the food chain to even infect the common man. Even to the working class, people weren't people anymore but just objects to be manipulated for personal gain. The giants of the Gilded Age made their millions by ruthlessly exploiting the working people simply as a means to fantastic wealth, so shouldn't that cold, impersonal, exploitive philosophy somehow benefit the guy on the street too ? Perhaps if he can screw enough people, or at least the right people he too can get to the top. And being able to buy into the Stock Market on the payment plan in the 1920's fueled these fantasies of the common man even more. In the 1870's, the German philosopher Nietzsche declared that "God is dead !!!" What Nietzsche was bemoaning was the loss of spiritual faith in the face of the certitude of Science. But so to did God die for the protagonist of this novel, having travelled from the moral certitude of a religious upbringing to the amoral Capitalist world of the 1920's, when everyone was in the game strictly for their own gain, even if it meant dehumanizing the people who you encounter on the way. ... jkulik919@gmail.com
I don't have any theories of the type you asked for. I have to admit I read the book nearly 30yrs ago. But I do have some opinions about this book. I remember getting to the end was somewhat tortuous and at the end I felt "what? That's it?" I trudged through the trial because I was waiting for the pay-off. The pay off being some sort of redemption of Clive through self examining and growth. But there was none. So then I thought that the author wanted to not do the cliche and that his msg was no msg. The book was just a story about a life of some named Clive. l knew deep down this was not the case and this author was definitely trying to tell me something. The book disturbed me and ticked something inside. But I was very young and could not figure it out. I did decide that I distinctly disliked this book. I thought about this book many times but over the years forgot the details and gave up wondering what the author's msg had been. I am so glad I watched your video. When I saw the title I thought to myself 'Hey, why not? This remains an unresolved tick in my brain and perhaps this kid figured it out.' And you did. When you described the morality of the characters and how it ran along class lines the light bulb exploded in my head. First off the fact that this turned out to not be a redemption story had been hugely disappointing to me and became the reason I didn't like the book. I say 'became' because I knew it was not boring or badly written but what truly bothered was elusive. Now I know. I don't know anything about this author but this bastard painted the rich as morally good as: because of course they are - they're rich. A philosophy straight out of the modern day prosperity gospel. A philosophy that poisons American culture on all levels not just the religious. If you're rich then you're blessed and if you're blessed then you must be good and (worse) correct. This idea pervades our society far beyond the church and always has. The author reinforces this idea by painting the less well off as inherently morally weak mostly because of their pursuit of the wealth other's have. If only the poor would just be satisfied with their lot in life they could find the proper morality. I no longer think this author was trying to tell me something. His view of the lower classes was a given. And, it seems, their moral weakness was inherent and irredeemable. Fuck this book and fuck him, too. Thanks for clearing this up for me.
Based on the actual murder of my 2x great aunt Grace Brown by Chester Gillette Dreiser and the writers of A Place in the Sun took great liberty with their portrayals of our family member. The actual facts of this murder are very relevant to today, wrt domestic violence and deserve reexamination from the pov of the victim.
I agree the book is too long. Most scenes are too full of details, places,and people that don't add anything to the story. The story itself is fascinating.
