The Human Comedy

by SAROYAN, WILLIAM

• ISBN13: 9780440339335
• ISBN10: 0440339332
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1966-08-15
• Publisher: Dell

Summary

The place is Ithaca, in California's San Joaquin Valley. The time is World War II. The family is the Macauley'sa mother, sister, and three brothers whose struggles and dreams reflect those of America's second-generation immigrants...In particular, fourteen-year-old Homer, determined to become one of the fastest telegraph messengers in the West, finds himself caught between reality and illusion as delivering his messages of wartime death, love, and money brings him face-to-face with human emotion at its most naked and raw. Gentle, poignant and richly autobiographical, this delightful novel shows us the boy becoming the man in a world that even in the midst of war, appears sweeter, safer and more livable than out own.

Author Biography

William Saroyan was one of America’s major twentieth century writers. In his prize-winning play, “The Time of Your life,” and in his celebrated fictional works such as “The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze,” he displayed a fantastical imagination and irresistible charm that is still fresh and entertaining today.

Table of Contents

Ulysses	p. 11
Homer	p. 14
At the Telegraph Office	p. 16
At Home	p. 22
Mrs. Sandoval	p. 25
Mr. Grogan	p. 29
Mrs. Macauley	p. 32
Bess and Mary	p. 35
The Veteran	p. 41
The Ancient History Class	p. 44
The Human Nose	p. 51
Miss Hicks	p. 54
Big Chris	p. 61
Diana	p. 72
The Girl on the Corner	p. 72
Going Home	p. 81
Three Soldiers	p. 84
The Telegram	p. 91
Alan	p. 94
After the Movie	p. 96
Valley Champion for Kids	p. 98
The Holdup Man	p. 101
The Nightmare	p. 110
The Apricot Tree	p. 114
Mr. Ara	p. 120
Mrs. Macauley	p. 129
Lionel	p. 132
At the Public Library	p. 136
At the Parlor Lecture Club	p. 140
At the Bethel Rooms	p. 146
Mr. Mechano	p. 149
On the Train	p. 158
Marcus	p. 164
At the Church	p. 169
The Lion in the Net	p. 174
Spangler	p. 178
Ithaca	p. 180
The Horseshoe Pitchers	p. 182
The House	p. 189
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