Studs Lonigan: A Trilogy: Young Lonigan/the Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan/Judgment Day (LIBRARY OF AMERICA)

Rating:
Summary: Not a classic: A true classic never dates
Review: As a relatively young reader, I would never hyave heard about Studs Lonigan if the trilogy had not been listed in the Modern Library's list of the 100 best works of fiction written in English during the 20th century.
I approached the novel with a profound sense of anticipation and actually found much to like in the first novel when Studs in individuating himself as a teenager.
Unfortunately the second and third novels despite having new charcters and influences on Studs, show no development of his psyche and consciosness. He is the same Studs from beginning to end. It took me forever to finish the book, with it's stilted language but I wanted to see why this book was so highly praised.
I can't really understand Farrel's purpose in writing these novels. If he meant to expose the hatred that many Irish Catholic's faced or of the effects of Catholicism on the young, the novels never really accompished what they set out to do. If Farrell had stopped at the end of volume 1, he might have been better regarded as a writer. The last 600 pages plod through to the all too predictable end.
I was tremendously disappointed. I would not recommend this to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Studs goes to Hawaii
Review: About five years ago I brought the Studs Lonigan trilogy with me to Hawaii. Read it in a week. The thing that struck me the most was Farrell's handling of Studs's interior dialogue. His thoughts mirrored mine when I was his age(s). It was shocking; I thought I was the only person who felt and thought what I had, and to see those thoughts and feelings in print was extemely confronting... and comforting knowing I wasn't alone.

Rating:
Summary: It May Be Dated But It's Still Very Relevant
Review: This still is one of the best "coming of age" novels ever written. I doubt there are many people still around who can relate to many of the things that Studs experienced exactly only due to the fact that they were born too late. This is not the point, however, of a true classic (which this trilogy is). The feelings experienced by Studs, described so freely and naturally, are timeless. The language may be objectionable to some, but have you taken a close listen to many of the Rap lyrics on today's CD's and even on radio? The writing and the storyline flow. Unlike most novels published today, this trilogy is a perfect example of an author getting so deeply into his main character that his public bio becomes indistinguishable from him. I'm sure you'll find that most people will recognize the name Studs Lonigan, but ask them who James Farrell is (outside of the context of the novels) and they'll probably not be able to tell you. Concerns that these novels are racist and anti-semitic seem to me to be a bit naive. This stuff is pretty mild compared to the garbage that your average person is subjected to daily in the print and electronic media. I would still recommend it for inclusion in a high school level honors literature program reading list.