Sweet stories, or punishing read? Jean Toomer's Cane was December's book club read
Jean Toomer's Cane was the focus for the final Tyneside Book Club meeting of 2020. It is fair to say there was a mixed response to a book that is, nevertheless, an important milestone in African American literature.
There was appreciation for the beauty and poetry of Toomer's writing. The novel includes several poems, which were largely praised by members. Its importance in exploring black lives in a United States, at time when they were even more marginalised than today, was also noted.
Members though found they struggled with a novel that broke with any conventional narrative structure. Cane was largely a series of vignettes, some very short, alongside the poetry.
For the majority of members, that made it feel a bit of a slog. Members felt the vignettes were of variable quality, and sometimes quite slight. There was more appreciation of the two longer narratives towards the close of the novel, as they allowed the greater exploration of themes and characters, adding narrative flow.
There was praise for Toomer's exploration of the lives of black women, but some found the writing - though sensual - verged on sexual objectification. There were though interesting themes explored about the contrasts between black lives in the north and south of the US.
For some,the novel did not leave much of a lasting impression, though others felt there was a cumulative power in Cane, with it eventually adding up to more than the sum of its parts.
For many though Cane felt more like a novel you would read for a university course than for pleasure. Important academically, but not necessarily something you would seek out otherwise. For some, Toomer's biography and complex relationship with race was perhaps more interesting than what was actually on the page. All though recognised this was a book with an important place in the canon of African-American literature.
There was appreciation for the beauty and poetry of Toomer's writing. The novel includes several poems, which were largely praised by members. Its importance in exploring black lives in a United States, at time when they were even more marginalised than today, was also noted.
Members though found they struggled with a novel that broke with any conventional narrative structure. Cane was largely a series of vignettes, some very short, alongside the poetry.
For the majority of members, that made it feel a bit of a slog. Members felt the vignettes were of variable quality, and sometimes quite slight. There was more appreciation of the two longer narratives towards the close of the novel, as they allowed the greater exploration of themes and characters, adding narrative flow.
There was praise for Toomer's exploration of the lives of black women, but some found the writing - though sensual - verged on sexual objectification. There were though interesting themes explored about the contrasts between black lives in the north and south of the US.
For some,the novel did not leave much of a lasting impression, though others felt there was a cumulative power in Cane, with it eventually adding up to more than the sum of its parts.
For many though Cane felt more like a novel you would read for a university course than for pleasure. Important academically, but not necessarily something you would seek out otherwise. For some, Toomer's biography and complex relationship with race was perhaps more interesting than what was actually on the page. All though recognised this was a book with an important place in the canon of African-American literature.
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