Rating: 
Summary: Not really giving San Francisco a good name....
Review: I like this book, I really do, but I was troubled by the first eighty or so pages. I didn't know what to think. Was I supposed to laugh at McTeague's clumsiness? Were the characters supposed to be reflections of the real townspeople of San Francisco in 1899? These questions, however, were soon wiped away as the story unfolded.Norris does a good job of putting rhyme with reason when describing the characters' motives for many of the things that occur. The repetition of a lot of descriptions seem a bit cumbersome at first, but then I got the feeling that these are the only words to describe them. This is a great novel in that Norris was able to make me feel for (or against) each person. But, he also makes them so rounded that you can't hate any one entirely. The subplots to this book intermingle with perfection, each one coming to the desired ending (without being predictable) and adding the communal feel to what is going on with the main participants. The sharp contrast between good and evil fill the reader's thirst for revenge and peace in two of these stories. By kicking these feelings into me, it made me realize how not-so-perfect my mannerisms are, and therefore I don't think this is a "story of San Fransisco," but of America itself. The language in this novel astounded me. It reads as true today as it relates to the turn of the century. When Heise shouts "Get out!" after receiving a bit of shocking news, I couldn't help but think of Elaine on Seinfeld. I know it probably wasn't meant in quite that way, but just the fact that it matches today's slang is rather remarkable. This is a good book to read for both entertainment and enlightenment.
Rating: 
Summary: To quote the Beatles "It's a dirty story of a dirty man..."
Review: I read this book several years ago, and i don't look back to it as one of the books that i really enjoyed. Sure, if you want to prove a point that people and society are evil, then you could probably use this book. The characters have no redeeming qualities to them, and so when their lives slide into ruin, you can maybe feel sorry for them, but you aren't torn up that such bad things happened to them. Life is a lot better than that.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing, pitiless, hypnotic
Review: Norris' story moves toward its predictably tragic ending with a hypnotic momentum that make this work one of the true classics of American literary naturalism. Above all, Norris' novel is composed of unforgettable images--it isn't at all surprising that Erich von Stroheim chose to adapt "McTeague" as the film "Greed" in 1924.
Rating:
Summary: McTeague is literary naturalism in the purist form.
Review: McTeague, the man, is the embodiment of the majority of human civilization. The simplicity and directness of the themes are so free-flowing they are hardly noticible: success, wealth, power, the fear of losing that which elevates citizens to one of the three social classes: 1) Wealth 2) Middle-class 3) Poverty. The characters in the novel: McTeague, Trina, Marcus, Zerkow, etc., are all simple-minded individuals longing for something that is universal in life: success and comfort. But what happens when that goal, that climax, is never achieved, almost achieved but never fully there or worse yet, achieved but then brutally snatched away? That is what happenes to McTeague, a dentist, who can no longer practice his craft because he holds no dental degree. What happens when that comfort zone, that stability, is yanked away and gnawed into pieces so miniscule it can't be reconstructed to its original form? Can he rise from his adversity or will he, like many before him and many after him, fall into the pits of criminal behavior and social depravity? As is always unfortunately the case, the latter is almost always what comes into fruition. There is a force in the novel that brings the characters quietly together. The dark happenings that they incur as a result of their narrow-minded longings almost makes what happens to them inevitable. The writing itself is lucid and relaxed, which is a real accomplishment considering the horror he puts his characters through. The scenes of San Francisco, the desert and the village-oriented type feel of Polk Street where the beginning action takes place are wonderfully described, not laborious as compared to the old and tragic English novels of the 19th Century and onward. For any literate individual interested in how greed can destroy a life, McTeague is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Novel
Review: McTeague was truly an excellent novel. While the prose was awkward at times, the story seemed to move at a steady pace with little to no downtime. Norris forces his reader to empathize with his characters, especially in times of stupidity and greed. For example, when McTeague foolishly shoves a cue ball into his mouth and gets it stuck, Norris made it so real I almost broke a sweat. Similarly, there were many moments where I was ready to put my fist through Trina (and thank god someone did). All in all, McTeague was a highly enjoyable read and an interesting perspective into the dark side of people.
Rating:
Summary: An Enduring Classic of Western Literature
Review: I sort of stumbled upon this page as I was doing a search for a book on California history. I am the great-niece of Frank Norris (living in San Francisco, frequently driving past Frank Norris St., an alley just off Polk St.) I, too, had to read the novel in high school (along with "Sister Carrie", etc) many years ago -- and loved it (though wasn't sure I would). Seeing the film "Greed" a number of years later cemented my regard for the work of my my colorful ancestor. It's great to read these comments and find how much today's readers enjoy the novel...and realize that it probably will not just fade away, but has probably achieved lasting status as one of the great works of western -- Californian -- literature.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Dark Piece of Literature
Review: This is definitely a wonderful intellectual horror novel. It never sells out and tries to become something mainstream. It is deliciously honest and a wonderful work of gothic art. I recently had to read it in my college American lit. class, and I loved every minute of it. I also recommend the old silent film "Greed" to go along with it (it is based on this novel).
Rating:
Summary: McTeague is good literature!
Review: I read this in High School thinking "this is going to be terrible", but I proved myself very wrong. I consider it one of the best books I've ever read, even topping "The Great Gatsby". It's a gripping story of greed, betrayal, and an incredibly realistic view of life. The language diction is easy to follow, and the storyline is sure to grip you. I swear, you'll love this book.
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Summary: McTeague by Frank Norris
Review: Although this book was published 100 years ago, it rivited my attention as no modern author has recently done. The characters are broadly drawn, and are certainly flawed people, however I was able to enter this story completely. I felt the love pangs of the elderly couple, pitied Maria Macapa, and hoped that Trina and Mac would somehow persevere in spite of Marcus' treachery. I have not been able to get their stories out of my head. I saw Eric Von Stroheim's movie "Greed" which translated this book to the silent screen. It's also a marvel!
Rating:
Summary: Pitiless
Review: This book is unrelentingly depressing and vital; impossible to put down the numbing narrative. The snobbery of Norris's privileged youth shows as he malaciously yet objectively records the low-brow tastes in art, theater, and music, as well as interior decoration. Sometimes this irritated, but by and large Norris stood apart, cooly neutral, employing tricks of the French symbolists, mostly repetitive description, sometimes whole sentences, reframing the scenes in the refrains. The description of Trina only grew more intense and invigorated the more she was plunged into despair and poverty. McTeague is not an entertaining book, certainly not. It's a compelling tour through animal lust and brutality. Employing the refrains served to increase the idea of the narrative as a child's fairy tale or a time-worn, rusty allegory. This in turn cemented the dreary finality of bleakness: eternal determinism. McTeague fascinates with raw animal magnetism, like a dazzling beauty fascinates a man from across the room, like life itself hypnotizes in its teeming energy and elemental force. Norris compels, fascinates, controls. He's a man obsessed whose obsessions become the obsessions of those who read him. This book is fatally irresistable.
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