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You Can't Go Home Again

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

35 posts | 11 read | 4 to read

Brad Smith, a “funny, poignant, evocative” (Dennis Lehane) crime novelist, debuts a new series set in upstate New York featuring jack-of-all trades, Virgil Cain, who must clear his name of two murders while on the run from the law in this spirited country noir. Mickey Dupree is one of the most successful criminal attorneys in upstate New York, having never lost a capital murder case. That is the upside of being Mickey. The downside: Mickey has a lot of enemies and one of them drives the shaft of a golf club through his heart, leaving him dead in a sand trap at his exclusive country club. The cops, led by a dim-witted detective named Joe Brady, focus their attentions on Virgil Cain. Just two weeks earlier Virgil told a crowded bar that “somebody ought to blow Mickey’s head off,” after the slippery lawyer earned an acquittal for Alan Comstock, the man accused of murdering Virgil’s wife. Comstock, a legendary record producer, gun nut, and certifiable lunatic, has returned to his estate, where he lives with his wife, the long suffering Jane. It appears to Virgil that the fix is in when Brady immediately throws him into jail with no questions asked. In order to set things right, Virgil escapes from jail, determined to find Mickey’s killer himself. Aside from a smart and sexy detective named Claire Marchand, everybody is convinced that Virgil is the culprit. When Alan Comstock is discovered with six slugs in his body the day after Virgil’s escape, his guilt is almost assured. Now it is up to Virgil to convince everyone of his innocence—by finding the killer before he winds up as the next victim.

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blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Took the youngest to Thomas C. Wolfe Memorial today and purchased Look Homeward Angel and thought of reading You Can't Go Home Again with @Lcsmcat We also visited his graveside and left a pen. I then took her to Jerusalem Market Cafe to get some Shakshuka for #Israel. Next, Pinball Museum.

Scochrane26 I have to go to the Pinball museum next time I go. I‘ve been to Asheville multiple times & never make it. I went to the Wolfe house a few yrs agoā€”it‘s cool. Still never read his books though. 4y

Bookwormjillk I‘m still mad at myself for never visiting his house when I had the chance. 4y

Lcsmcat How fun! I‘ve never been to the memorial, but next time I make it to Asheville I‘ll have to! 4y

Butterfinger @Scochrane26 we had planned to meet last year when you were going to visit, but then Covid. I was impressed with the pinball museum. My daughter and husband had a great time. I'll be honest, I thought it would be a bunch of scantily dressed women on the games. I was wrong. It was a good place to take children. 4y

Nebklvr I loved You can‘t go home again and Look Homeward Angel 4y

42 likes5 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

#TropesInAugust @Klou
ReturnToSmallTown

I thought this classic by Thomas Wolfe was most appropriate for the prompt. Also, choose this one since Wolfe grew up in Asheville my hometown.

Scochrane26 I went on a tour of his house once when I was in Asheville. I‘ve never read the book thoughā€”I heard it wasn‘t very good. 5y

Klou Fantastic choice! 5y

61 likes2 comments

review

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Pick

pick

By the time I neared the end, I came to the realization that You Can't Go Home Again was written to show how Wolfe's worldview had evolved through his life's experiences. I resented his apparent passivity to racism. I scorned his descriptions of the rich. I was appalled at the mistreatment of his fellow train passenger. He understood his innocence will never return. He saw and lived inhumanity and knew it to be ugly. #wolferead Thank you @Lcsmcat

Lcsmcat I think George Webber was passive about so much because he existed to be a bystander to witness what went on in the world during some very turbulent years. He was almost a Greek chorus of one in some places, if aGreek chorus didn‘t talk, but enabled others to. There were so many times that a character was talking for paragraphs and, every now and then Wolfe wrote ā€George said nothing so X went on.ā€¯ 5y

Lcsmcat I‘m glad you joined me. It kept me going! I hope you found it worth reading. 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat reading the letter to Fox was sad knowing that he would be dead before those words were published. When a writer acknowledges bigotry, is it being passive. Think about the part of the different cultures of waiters and police - the culture of a writer is to inform. I think this was his plan of action. I wish he hadn't died. Would Wolfe have spoken out against racism in a more aggressive way? 5y

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger I wasn‘t saying Wolfe was passive. I think Webber was being passive as a tool for Wolfe to show what he wanted to show. Much of Book 6 and Book 7 I was wondering ā€what if Wolfe had lived longer?ā€¯ And how much of the foreshadowing, if any, was added in by his editor? 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat I understand what you are saying. You are absolutely right. 5y

27 likes5 comments

review

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Pick

pick

Thanks to my reading buddy, I made it through the final chunkster of the summer. Wolfe has moments of brilliant prose, interspersed with way too many adjectives. There was real growth in the MC, and many ideas to ponder. It‘s a pick. Now I‘m going to read books of less than 600 pages for awhile. š€ I‘ll still be checking in with my #wplfereads buddies. I want to hear your thoughts, particularly on Book 7.

Tamra That is an accomplishment! 5y

Lcsmcat @Tamra It wasn‘t like a challenge or anything, but I ended up reading 4 books of over 500 pages (one of them nearly 900) this summer. So it‘s fitting that I finished this one on the last day of summer, but I‘m ready for something less monumental. š€ 5y

Butterfinger I feel like celebrating. There were times I was engaged and times I wanted to use it as a door stop. 5y

See All 6 Comments

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger We should definitely celebrate! I never felt like using it as a door stop, because mine‘s a paperback, but there were times I wanted to throw it across the room. š€ 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat I enjoyed my first buddy read. If you ever want to do another, think of me. 5y

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger Absolutely! Getting other perspectives on a book makes the experience that much richer. 5y

60 likes6 comments

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

P 465 #wolferead @Lcsmcat almost your own words. LOL!!

Lcsmcat Funny! 5y

Lcsmcat I read that the McHarg character is supposed to be Sinclair Lewis. I wonder if he said that to Wolfe? 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat I wondered if he based it on a real person. In the same chapter he referred to James Joyce with a fictitious name. 5y

Lcsmcat I noticed that too. 5y

23 likes4 comments

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

ā€And about Hitler‘s Germany he felt that one must be very true. And the reason one needed to be very true was that the thing in it which every decent person must be against was false. You could not turn the other cheek to wrong, but also, it seemed to him, you could not be wrong about wrong. You had to be right about it. You could not meet lies and trickery with lies and trickery, although there were some people who argued that you should.ā€¯ š‘‡š¸»

Lcsmcat Two things struck me here. First, Wolfe died before the start of WWII, much less our entry into it. And second, why have we still not learned this lesson! I‘m finding so much in these last 100 pages. #wolfereads 5y

Tamra @Lcsmcat š‘ 5y

Graywacke @Lcsmcat ( @Tamra ) š Lies and trickery all the way down, so it sometimes seems 5y

36 likes3 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

I‘m loving Mrs. Pur is‘ anti-George pro-Edward rant, knowing how it all actually turned out. š‚ But I did have to look up the actual date of the abdication. #wolferead

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

What do you think, #wolferead buddies? True, or Webber/Wolfe‘s mental state talking?

Butterfinger True. Only Wolfe could describe loneliness so eloquently. 5y

36 likes1 comment

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

ā€Baseball‘s a dull game, really; that‘s the reason that it is so good. We do not love the game so much as we love the sprawl and drowse and shirt-sleeved apathy of it.ā€¯ I have to agree with him here. #wolferead

Leftcoastzen šš‘¨š‘¸ 5y

barbwire Just to play devil‘s advocate: ā€Sandor Boatly had never guessed that, properly played, baseball consisted of mathematics, geometry, art, philosophy, ballet, and carnival, all intertwined like the mystical ribbons of color in a rainbow.ā€¯ __W.P. Kinsella 5y

Lcsmcat @barbwire Point taken. But I still agree with Wolfe. 5y

barbwire š‡ā¾ļø¸ 5y

43 likes4 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

For the life of me I can't understand Wolfe's purpose in writing a man's death as he gruesomely did in ch 29. The history of America was weaved through the fabrication of his death. It was very disturbing. #wolferead

Lcsmcat I know he died of Tuberculosis, but this whole book makes me think he struggled with mental illness. Maybe writing about this death the way he did was a way of exorcising his demons? 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat mental illness would explain the different writing styles. He jumps from describing people's personalities by detailing how they wake up in the morning to talking to the reader and explaining in a weird way that is just hard to understand. I think he was so intellectually gifted, I'm left with wondering what it is I'm reading. He is affecting me; I'm not even making sense. 5y

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger š‚ There is some gorgeous writing in there, but sometimes I wish someone had stolen his thesaurus! Why use 1 adjective when 5 or 6 will do. š¤£ 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat š‚š‚ 5y

25 likes4 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Up to ch 31 #wolferead. Reading the part how Libya Hill was affected by the Depression really shook me. I don't know why. I've always known NC was affected too. I think this week I am going to research Asheville during the Depression. It also reminded me of Its a Wonderful Life - except the Building Trust is run by unscrupulous men and the blind judge (Mr. Potter) may be who saves the town through evil, cruel ways.

Lcsmcat Playing catch-up. I didn‘t have much reading time this past week. Maybe your research will let me catch up to you. š€ But if not, I‘d still like to hear what you learn. 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat I hope I didn't spoil it too much. 5y

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger I don‘t believe in spoilers, especially with classics. We usually ā€knowā€¯ the story before we read it. But the writing we can‘t get from reviews etc. And that‘s what I read for. So no worries. š€ 5y

Lcsmcat I just watched Genius, the 2016 movie about Wolfe and his editor Maxwell Perkins. It‘s worth the hour and 45 minutes, if you‘re interested. 5y

Butterfinger Thanks for letting me know @Lcsmcat 5y

20 likes5 comments

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

ā€These were the innumerable small fry who became . . . embattled vegetarians, or believers in salvation through nudism.ā€¯ š¤£ #wolferead

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

#wolferead Finished Book 2. When the firemen flooded the basement, did the water kill the 500 people who were on the sub? Did the union start the fire just to kill the 2 elevator men who didn't go to the meeting? What does everyone else think?

Lcsmcat I think the trains were greatly delayed, but no one was killed. It‘s the two elevator operators who died. But we‘ll see, won‘t we. 5y

2 likes1 comment

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

I'm not done. Did Wolfe write this way to show the rich deserved to fall? Should we not have pity? And Edith declares she is a Socialist because she is a worker. Surely, Wolfe meant to show how insulting that would be to true workers, right? If this is autobiographical, I don't think he cared about keeping friends. Now, I'm done.

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

#wolferead Up to ch 18 - I have so many thoughts about the party. Wolfe was very clever to remind readers that the Crash would happen shortly after the party. As I read about the characters - Amy, Hirsch, Piggy Logan, I get a sick feeling. Who will survive? Even the crazy scene of Piggy - is it meant to show that they didn't care where their money went? Decadence. Is it true that the rich would invite gay as entertainment -how degrading.

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

#wolferead Ch 10- I am making a prediction. While reading this chapter how Mr. Jack enjoys his indulgent life, I get the feeling he will fall greatly in the Stock Market Crash that Wolfe very neatly referred.

Lcsmcat I think that is a safe prediction! 5y

6 likes1 comment

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Ah, if only it had gotten better since 1929. #WolfeRead

Leftcoastzen Glad you are liking it , I should join in with a re read , so backed up.It‘s funny what Max Perkins went through with him.He was very analytical and wordy.Max (paraphrasing of course )said Hemingway manuscripts were ready ,Fitzgerald, he needed to correct spelling.With Wolfe , they battled over length. 5y

38 likes1 comment

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

The chapters Jack at Morn and Mrs. Jack Awake are quite a shift from previous chapters. The minutiae of his morning routine, the quicksilver changes of mood and wordless conversation between her and her maid Nora. I‘m ready to have George back, please. #wolferead (random picture from the internet to represent Mr. & Mrs. Jack.)

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

#wolferead Ch 6-7 Aunt Maw's funeral and real estate - I've known so many people like Mrs. Flood. Nosy, knows everything about everyone. I hate how he found about his father wanting his mom buried in his plot and his uncle exhuming her because of a stupid grudge. What is with Appalachia and grudges (Hatfield and McCoy)? How awful would it be to hear such a sordid tale about his mother's exhuming? Nosy people can also be rude.

Lcsmcat What about bringing up ā€the scandalā€¯ during the eulogy! No wonder he wanted to leave! 5y

5 likes1 comment

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

#wolferead

Ch 5 I dislike the judge immensely. I'm torn over Wolfe's feelings. He clearly thinks people are being used, but he still uses racist words. It makes me think of my childhood. My parents acted like it was a regular word and then say they weren't racist. I know it's the period and the society, at this time, deemed it okay, but it is not okay. I hope the Judge won't be a major character, but I have a feeling he is.

Lcsmcat Did you see him as a prophetic voice at all? The trope of the blind seer? 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat Maybe, the judge did ask George if he thought he could go home again and then said, "don't forget I tried to warn you." At the time and during his aunt's funeral, George was thinking how Libya Hill's changes might be what the judge was alluding to. It is not just the city who changes, but his family, his friends, even his past. Good question. 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat I had to ask my husband about the trope question. I think the judge is similar to Hauser- they both know how fortunes can change on a dime. I like how the other people on the train we're terrified of the judge as "his blind eyes saw straight through them." 5y

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger That quote is part of why I thought he might be a prophetic voice. 5y

4 likes4 comments

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

"Their souls we're like the visages of city streets." Ch 4 #wolferead

I liked how Wolfe described NYC's workers. Delivery drivers.

"Each day they faced the perils of the streets with hearts as calm as if they were alone upon a country road."

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

I‘ve finished Book 1 (about 125 pages) and there‘s no puzzling over where the title came from. He made that very clear. š† #wolferead

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Joining in with @Lcsmcat and others for the #WolfeRead of You Can‘t Go Home Again by Thomas Wolfe. This is my first time to read Wolfe. I had no idea he died at such a young age (37) and that this book wasn‘t published until after his death. I found this collection of Wolfe‘s works on my Kindle.

Lcsmcat This is my first Wolfe too. 5y

Butterfinger @SharonGoforth Mine also and I'm ashamed to say that I may be overwhelmed by some of the wording. Brilliant writing from classics go over my head. But, I still want to pursue classics. 5y

SharonGoforth @Butterfinger He‘s definitely wordy (and I‘ve only read the first chapter). Hopefully I‘ll be able to get past the racist remarks. But the story sounds intriguing, and I think it‘s interesting that he opened the book the way he did, about his lover. 5y

41 likes3 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

Check 2-3

I liked how Wolfe showed a young author's insecurities about meeting a publisher for the first time. The book is like a child, already perfect.

But I don't understand Hauser. Why would he go back and forth - not worth publishing then a work of genius? What made him less inclined to share your honest opinion.

Katamoto was such a delightful character. "Trampling." I wish there was more. What was the purpose of this chapter?

Lcsmcat I felt Hauser‘s saying it wasn‘t publishable was more a judgement on the publishing industry and the type of books they approved of than a jugement on Webber‘s book. 5y

Lcsmcat I wonder too if Katamoto‘s importance will be made clear later, or if he was just a bit of color. 5y

4 likes2 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

This post contains spoilers

Cringe worthy or brilliant? Webber compares his love affair to Esther to Goethe's drunken man on horseback - reeling, but going somewhere. They are clearly not suited and he wants to keep his bachelor pad to himself, but is happy. ??? Is Esther equally happy? I think she is a cougar and he likes pursuing an older, richer woman.

This book will force us to think. #wolferead @Lcsmcat

Lcsmcat Indeed! There‘s a lot in these first 50 pages that wouldn‘t fly today. 5y

6 likes1 comment

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

I've been wanting to visit Wolfe's home for awhile now. I think I will after I finish reading. I never knew that he was so well known that he was read by Hemingway and Faulkner. I thought it was funny that in the introduction, Gail Godwin wrote it is natural to go back and forth liking and not liking (my words) and I find it to be true. I find I'm cringing then appreciating. #wolferead @Lcsmcat

Lcsmcat He was very well known, and Look Homeward Angel angered the people of Asheville so much that he ā€couldn‘t go home again.ā€¯ 5y

Butterfinger I know that feeling. I think the native people of western NC are still that way. Easily offended and will hold petty grudges. I live one county east of Buncombe and was raised three counties over. 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat 5y

See All 6 Comments

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger I know! I grew up in Greensboro and they didn‘t teach his work in the schools as late as the 70s. So where do you live now? I‘m in Wake County. 5y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat McDowell. My plan is to read about 150 pages a week, but post only 1or 2 chapters a day. And there is a lot that takes me to a time of ugly racist memories. 5y

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger That‘s such a pretty part of the state! There is a lot that wouldn‘t fly now, and you have to take him as of his time. But he‘s also an equal opportunity offender. So far he‘s insulted Jews, Greeks, Italians, Irish, Japanese, African Americans, women, and probably others that I‘ve left out! 5y

25 likes6 comments

blurb

LitsyHappenings

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Repost for @Lcsmcat :
Join us for the #WolfeRead of You Can‘t Go Home Again. Very casual. Some of us are starting this weekend. Read at your own pace; comment on whatever catches your attention.

Lcsmcat Thanks for the repost! 5y

kalinichta That cover. š’› 5y

Dragonfairykats The ebook is $0.99 on Amazon US! 5y

63 likes3 comments

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

ā€And the were sure and certain, forever wrong, but always confident.ā€¯
Such a perfect description of 20-something men. #WolfeRead @Butterfinger

Butterfinger Some things never change. 5y

46 likes1 comment

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Join us for the #WolfeRead of You Can‘t Go Home Again. Very casual. Some of us are starting this weekend. Read at your own pace; comment on whatever catches your attention. @LitsyHappenings

Dragonfairykats I'm so confused! The book profile in Litsy is totally different than the one in Amazon... 5y

Lcsmcat @Dragonfairykats The blurb here is wrong. I‘m not sure how to get it fixed. @timspalding ? 5y

Dragonfairykats @Lcsmcat I'm loving the excerpt on Amazon! Also, the book is $0.99 on Amazon US 5y

See All 11 Comments

KarmonR Wolfe always makes me feel as if I don‘t have enough life experience to truly understand all the subtleties of his texts - no matter how old it get! 5y

Lcsmcat @Dragonfairykats Join us! It‘s a very casual buddy read. Read at your own pace, comment at will. 5y

Lcsmcat @KarmonR I‘m embarrassed to say that this is my first Wolfe. I‘m loving it, but he has managed to insult just about every group possible in the first 50 pages. š€ 5y

Dragonfairykats @Lcsmcat I think I will! 5y

Lcsmcat @Dragonfairykats š‘¸š¸»š‘¸š¸» 5y

SharonGoforth @Lcsmcat Started reading it today! 5y

TimSpalding @Lcsmcat No way at the moment, unfortunately. 5y

Lcsmcat @TimSpalding Oh well. Thanks for letting me know. 5y

43 likes1 stack add11 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

I have my copy. When and how do we start @Lcsmcat I didn't know it was a chunkster. š

Lcsmcat We can start this weekend if you like. I‘m envisioning something casual. No schedule of how many chapters each week or anything. Just post your insights, questions, eye-rolls, quotes, or whatever catches your attention . š€ 5y

Lcsmcat Let‘s use the hashtag #WolfeRead to mark our posts so we can find them. 5y

24 likes2 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Any interest in a buddy read of this book? As a native North Carolinian I‘m ashamed to say I haven‘t read it yet. I‘m thinking something very informal, like #magicmountain and #myvodkabromance were, and starting in September? Give me a holler if you‘re interested.

Butterfinger I'm interested. 6y

Lcsmcat @Butterfinger Great! 6y

Butterfinger @Lcsmcat I ordered my book for September. 5y

Lcsmcat Excellent! Let me know when it arrives. 5y

38 likes1 stack add4 comments

blurb

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

š“You Can‘t Go Home Again
ā¨ļø¸Richard Yates
š“½Young Frankenstein
š“ŗYounger(So cute, woman in her 40s stopped working to raise daughter,can‘t get a job in publishing, pretends to be 26.)
Yellow squash
#manicmonday #letterY

tagged users icon

JoScho š’š’š’ 6y

34 likes1 comment

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

My Obvious State quote calendar knows what's up this month (and every month).

quote

You Can't Go Home Again | Thomas Wolfe

Esther glanced at George and saw his face grow twisted as he looked. He wanted to say to her that we are all savage, foolish, violent, and mistaken; that full of our fear and confusion, we walk in ignorance upon the living and beautiful earth, breathing young, vital air and bathing in the light of morning, seeing it not because of the murder in our hearts.