The William Saroyan Reader

By William Saroyan and William Ssaroyan

Book Overview

This is the most complete and generous sampling of the first half of an indispensable American writer's career.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569800197
• ISBN13: 9781569800195
• Release Date: January 1958
• Publisher: Barricade Books
• Length: 498 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 5.9" x 1.3" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Caught in the grind of every day life...

William Saroyan was a great American author of short stories, short novels, plays and poetry. As an Armenian-American from Fresno, California, many of his stories touch upon that background; but there is much more in Saroyan. He writes about simple, ordinary everyday people (anti-heroes), caught in the grind of every day life. His most outstanding works are presented in this anthology including: "Saroyan Prizes", "70,000 Assyrians", "A Cold Day", "The Living and the Dead", "Finlandia" and "A Writer's Declaration". Every one of these works is existential, pondering love, art, war, peace and prosperity. The characters are your real, everyday people taken out of thier mundane circumstances that most of us face daily. Saroyan's eloquent but essentially simple style makes for easy but reflective reading.

Perfect intro to Saroyan

This book does a great job of introducing you to the writings of William Saroyan. His novels, plays and short stories capture life in a succinct style I have never seen repeated. My favorite are his short stories, which I never want to stop reading. In a few pages he brings characters, events and places to life.

A Great Intro to a Great Author

If you've never been lucky enough to be exposed to the down-to-earth writing of William Saroyan, you are definitely missing out on a treat. Saroyan's short stories, autobiographical writings, and novels are simple realism, stretched to heart rending emotional height. This book is a fine compilation for a new reader of Saroyan, who, like his California colleague, Steinbeck, doesn't get enough attention these days. Also, this collection contains the wonderful novella, "Tracy's Tiger," an incredible allegorical tale of love and struggle in the postmodern world.