OF TIME AND THE RIVER (ePub)

Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) was an American novelist of the early 20th century, recognized for his highly original literary techniques and an overwhelming, lyrical prose style. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Wolfe mined the rich terrain of his early life to create passionate, sprawling narratives. His legacy in American literature is embodied in his semi-autobiographical novel, 'Look Homeward, Angel', which casts a sharp eye on the complexities of early 20th-century American life. However, it is perhaps 'Of Time and the River', a continuation of the saga of Eugene Gant, for which Wolfe is best remembered. Published in 1935, this epic work is a vivid, stream-of-consciousness account of Gant's journey from the South to the wider world, often drawing on Wolfe's own experiences. Wolfe's narratives, characterized by a gargantuan appetite for life and the articulation of an intensely personal vision, broke traditional narrative constraints and gave rise to comparisons with contemporaries like Faulkner and Fitzgerald. Despite his early death at the age of 37, Wolfe's influence endures, with works like 'Of Time and the River' standing as profound explorations of the human spirit entwined with the American experience. His novels, both for their scale and their intimate excavation of youth, loss, and the vast tableau of American society, are remembered as precursors to the American confessional writing that would follow in subsequent decades.