Reading Between the Lines

Tragedy and Loss in Four American Novels

An exploration of four novels that center on experiences of disappointment, missed opportunity and ill-fated decisions seen against the backdrop of changing American culture. Each session centers on a book selected by Ryan Swihart, a graduate student at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

	The series opens with a discussion of Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning story of the demands and challenges of the American West during the last part of the 19th century.
	This session focuses on An American Tragedy by Theordore Dreiser, a classic tale of the American Dream gone horribly wrong based on the real-life story of Chester Gillette and Grace Brown, which took place in Chester County.
	A discussion of Thomas Wolfe's novel O Lost, the original version of the famous Look Homeward Angel, a powerful coming of age story.
	The series concludes with a conversation about The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers' examination of a small Southern town through the eyes of a young girl.