Understanding Alice Adams

Bryant Mangum's book Understanding Alice Adams explores the thematic intricacies and social commentary of Adams's eleven novels and five short story collections, focusing on the "Alice Adams woman" who is bright, honest, attractive, thoughtful, and sometimes offbeat. Mangum groups the novels and stories by the decades in which they were published, explaining how Adams used the novel as an extended workshop for her short fiction. He identifies hope as a thread that links all her main characters, despite the complexities and challenges that accompanied increased freedom for women in the later twentieth century.

\n Format: Hardback
\n Length: 152 pages
\n Publication date: 28 February 2019
\n Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
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Understanding Alice Adams is a captivating exploration of the life and work of an award-winning writer who vividly captured the complex challenges twentieth-century women faced in their pursuit of independence. Authored by Bryant Mangum, this comprehensive study delves into the thematic intricacies and astute social commentary found in Alice Adams's eleven novels and five short story collections. Throughout her career, Adams was renowned for creating and re-creating the iconic "Alice Adams woman," a character who exuded intelligence, honesty, attractiveness, thoughtfulness, and occasionally a quirky personality. Mangum notes that Adams's central characters, often portrayed as heroes, were predominantly women striving towards self-sufficiency and independence while fulfilling their responsibilities, including child-rearing and societal commitments.

After providing an overview of Adams's life (1926–1999), Mangum organizes the novels and stories by the decades in which they were published, as shifts in the thematic arc of Adams's fiction align conveniently with these periods. He elucidates how Adams utilized the novel as an extended workshop for her short fiction, drawing upon the rich narratives of her novels to craft her vibrant and lyrical short stories. Adams's novels encompass a wide spectrum of American experiences, and from these sweeping narratives, she distilled her sharp, lyrical, and vibrant short stories, which earned her an impressive 23 O. Henry Awards, including six first-place recognitions and a lifetime achievement award. This honor is shared with only Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, and Alice Munro.

In this study, Mangum delves into how Adams explores love, family, work, friendship, and nostalgia. He identifies hope as a thread that connects all her main characters, despite the accurate foresight she had into the complexities and challenges that accompanied increased freedom for women in the later twentieth century. Through his meticulous analysis, Mangum sheds light on Adams's profound understanding of the human condition and her ability to portray the struggles and triumphs of her characters with empathy and depth. Understanding Alice Adams is a valuable contribution to literary scholarship, offering a fresh perspective on the life and work of a remarkable writer who left an indelible mark on the literary landscape.

\n Weight: 330g\n
Dimension: 161 x 237 x 10 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9781611179330\n \n