Rating: 
Summary: Autobiography as Ficton
Review: "You Can't Go Home, Again" is really not so much a work of fiction as an autobiography in which the names of characters have been changed. Wolfe seemed unapologetic about the baldly autobiographical nature of his work. However, some may perceive his autobiography as evidence of a certain lack of creative reach and an aversion to creative risk-taking on his part. Wolfe's life was so deeply and richly lived in a relatively short period and so lyrically written that his autobiography reads as vibrantly as fiction. There are moments when Wolfe is brilliant and dazzling in describing moments of almost biblical epiphany. I suppose it's a good thing for Wolfe that he dove so deeply into his own life as it was tragically brief but intensely experienced and elegantly articulated: he managed to cram a great deal into his short lifespan. Wolfe reads quite a bit like Proust and in this novel the sentences in some places are nearly as long as the syntax of Proust. Wolfe could well be considered the Proust of the American South. Writers will especially value this work and it pays to read to the end as Wolfe's last novel is particularly revealing in its power and optimism and lyricism at its close: "What befalls man is a tragic lot. There is no denying this in the final end. But we must deny it all along the way. Mankind was fashioned for eternity." In the end Wolfe finds a comfortable home upon a promontory point in America's literary landscape. To understand the life of the writer in America at the outset of the 20th century during a Golden Age for the novel I recommend this worthy and enduring gem of that era.
Rating: 
Summary: Fiction as stranger than History
Review: 'You can't go home again' is a mammoth sized book covering the span of the depths of the Depression, from the Stock Market crash to the dawn of Nazi Germany. In each case, Wolfe presents as historical moment as irreversable, as a moment in time when as Bob Dylan says, "Our footsteps hang suspended."Beginning with the success as a budding writer, Wolfe tells his story through the eyes of George Webber, as he returns to his home ground, is rejected, and is cut loose to wander through New York, Paris and Germany - in each case closing the door on an era, and reliving the home town experience that he 'can't go home again.' One falls in love with Wolfe's use of detail as he takes you on this whirlwind tour of impressions and feelings about the Depression, what it meant to the people who lived it, to him and to society at large. A true gem of historical vengette's it reflects the world on brink of globalization that was the story of the later 20th century.
Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not a great book
Review: A month ago I eagerly began reading this book, as I had heard from several sources that it was considered one of the best American novels of the 20th century. Having finished it, I can now say that I have read worse books and I have read better books. This novel does touch on many important aspects of life in America -- how Americans live and work, the values that we hold dear, and the characteristics that make America unique among all the nations of the world. At several points during the book, I felt an expectation that the narrative was on the verge of vaulting into a truly profound and elegant statement about the themes that make up its story. Unfortunately, in a text of about 600 pages, the author succeeds only three or four times. I must say, with disappointment, that I expected more from a book of such lofty reputation. Still, those few passages which do succeed are exceptionally good. Historically speaking, the novel uses two of the most important episodes of the 20th century as the basis for the storyline. The first is the stock and real estate market crash of 1929, with its precedent speculative mania and the ensuing economic depression. Wolfe provides very wise and eloquent commentary about the bankruptcy, both moral and financial, in which America became trapped during this era. The second episode is the pre-WWII oppression of Germany by the Nazi regime of the mid-1930's. Given that the true magnitude of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust was not yet widely known at the time this book was written (1937-38), I was impressed with the premonition of impending evil that Wolfe captured so vividly in this book. Around these two major events, the author weaves a story that moves somewhat awkwardly between different sets of characters that seem to have little connection to one another, other than the fact that they are known to the main character. After I finished the book, I read a short biography of the author, Thomas Wolfe, and I then realized that You Can't Go Home Again is largely autobiographical. This knowledge helps to explain the somewhat disjointed nature of the plot and the author's apparent oversight in introducing certain central characters without ever explaining to the reader *why* they should be considered important. For example, the editor in the story, Foxhall Edwards, is a straight characterization of Wolfe's real-life editor Maxwell Perkins. Wolfe simply states that Edwards is a great friend and counselor to the story's main character without ever giving the reader a concrete passage which demonstrates this relationship. Then, at the end of the book, the main character writes a long letter to the editor explaining his need to "break clean" from the editor's friendship. This is all very eloquent and accurate from a real-life perspective, since Wolfe did in fact experience a very close relationship and subsequent parting with Perkins. The problem is that the reader, confined to the text of this novel, never really gets the sense that the relationship between these two men is in any way special or important. There are several other characters in the story who suffer from the same lack of development. I read an essay on Thomas Wolfe which described his writing style as "torrential explosions of adjectives and adverbs" and I must agree with this assessment wholeheartedly. Wolfe tends to use many synonymous words or phrases to describe a single idea. Sometimes this style works well, at other times it seems burdensome. All in all, this book is a worthwhile read and I am glad that I took the time to read it. I can not say, however, that it lived up to all of my expectations.
Rating:
Summary: If ever a book deserved an 11...
Review: absolutely wonderful...surely one of the greatest novels to come out from America.
Rating:
Summary: It takes its readers into the heart of the English Language
Review: After reading Look Homeward Angel, I became enthralled by Thomas Wolfe's verbose use of the English language. I set out to discover another tittle by the famed North Carolina author. At first, I found the sure depth of You Can't Go Home Again daunting. But as I began to explore the pages that lie within, I found myself becomming increasingly drawn to Wolfe's new found literary style. It seemed that age had found him closer than ever to the ultimate perfection of his craft. The impurities of his first novels, which could easily be seen as the product of his feverish insecurities, have been all but erased. He takes the reader further into the heart of the English Language, than any other author of my experiences. Each sentence seems to leap forth from the page with true vigor and color. You feel as if you are being led through an elaborate tour, which spans the distance of the globe, while diving into the churning bowels of literature's purest potential. It does however, lack the keenly crafted story lines of today's market. It is obvious that Wolfe has taken little heed in fufilling the alleged requirements set by authors before his time. Instead the style that accompanies him throughout his domestic and foreign travels, and throughout the heart of his most rewarding and demanding personal relationships, is something wholly his own. It must be read to grasp, for its many pages span a plethro of subjects. It is for the reader who is looking for a work of art, which is true to the authors most profound, honest, and concise emmotions.
Rating: 
Summary: the absolute worst!!!
Review: Does anyone have the guts to evaluate honestly???? This book is pathetic, 100 page tangents with absolutely no relevancy litter this book. It is dull writing and so unfocused that the only reason to continue reading it is that it is a "classic". Well classics usually receive the title for a reason, but mistakes abound... I realize we all have different opinions, mine is that the only reason one would claim to like this book is that they are 'cultured'...i have no specific comments to make because this novel has no redeeming thing about it (and because I read it 5 years ago and no way in hell am i going to go through that again just to give a fair review). By all means, read this 'classic' and then read any hemingway you can find...and then think for yourself (or don't, I guess i don't really care)
Rating:
Summary: The academic types love it.
Review: I guess it makes one feel intellectually in touch if he can praise this book. I guess I will never make it to that level, because I think this is one terrible book. I read approximately 100 pages on the traits of Fox Edwards, therefore, I was a little upset when I found out it was for no reason. I read with interest the last few pages where I found out that Wolfe's editor had to piece together several parts of this book, and then he had to write many pages in order to tie this mess together. All of this occured after Wolfe's death. I believe this is a collection of ramblings from Thomas Wolfe. I am sure that I can be attacked verbally for not understanding the meaning of this great work, but if it was truly a great work, I would not have missed its significance. Please, play with the kids, walk around the block, start drinking, but don't waste your time on this book.
Rating:
Summary: This book should be sung
Review: I love to take up this book and open it to a randomly selectly chapter. Then just let the words ring out in my mind. Notice that Wolfe builds slowly like a symphony until there is a creshendo (sp?) moment and the emotion and the setting come together in a way that only a few writers can achieve. For instance in the cocktail party scene. George is observing all the urbane goofyness (hee hee) around him and you can tell he is repulsed and drawn to the peoople at the same time. This dissonance exsists in him and it really drives him mad. We see him get very melodramatic in his mental ramblings until the party no longer exsists. He is asking the eternal questions and the answers just wont come. O! George you are a serious fellow! Till by the end of it all he throws his hands heavenward in despair and rage. Then bam! we are back and we see our boy standing in the middle of the party in this pose. . That is great stuff. Never equaled. Never done better. It blilds and builds and then well. He does it all over again. Poetry! I say its not the plot so much as the beauty
Rating:
Summary: sublime and full of magic
Review: I've been reading these other reviews and I've come to the conclusion that most of these folks just don't GET Wolfe. They keep talking about this being "wordy" and "drawn-out". Hello..Thomas Wolfe could write three pages about a man staring out of a window and have me in tears, contemplating the meaning of life. He's rarely about the story. He's always about the beauty of the moment. For sheer power of description and fearless romantic vision no one has come close to Thomas Wolfe. No one moves me like he does.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read.
Review: I've read every thing from Nancy Drew to War and Peace (unabridged), and when I think of the best, I think of Thomas
Wolfe and You Can't Go Home Again. It's been 30 years since
I picked it up and I still occasionally pick it up, if only to read that last beautiful paragraph. Some may not find it an easy book to read; Thomas Wolfe was a genius at prose. But take the
time and you'll find it worth your efforts.
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