"Winesburg, Ohio"

This book, Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life by Sherwood Anderson, came as a recommendation from my friend Todd. I was really not sure what I was getting into when I started this 100-year-old book of short stories based on the fictitious town of Winseburg, Ohio. (There really is a Winesburg, too.) 

This critically acclaimed book is basically the story of the main character’s, George Willard, coming of age. The book still holds true to what it's like growing up in a small town — without the internet (at least), isolation, awkwardness, loneliness and the difficulty of communicating with others. The book dives into the characters' odd, private lives and allows you a glimpse of what's going on inside their heads as well as in their surroundings. Even after 100 years, these sociologically and psychologically drenched stories still remain a valid representation of what some have called the “great illusion of American civilization.” Basically, the characters are all “doing what we as society think we’re supposed to do.”

It’s got it all.  The fear of God. The awkwardness of courtship and the power struggle between the haves and have nots. The pains of isolation, being alone and getting too deep inside your own head. Apparently, less has changed in this country than I realized. 

It reminded me of a behind the scenes look at small town America today. Where people react based on what they know, and don't know what they don't know. Reading was somewhat of a mental tug of war. “Only few know the sweetness of the twisted apples” immediately comes to mind. 

The book made me look back at things I had done in my past and “if I only knew then what I know now” kept popping up in my head. Once again, it keeps coming back to the emptiness of local life, loneliness, sexual & spiritual frustrations … and that there is a way out. You just have to do it!