How long is it?
432 pages in the Greenwood Press 1970 print unknown edition.
Fiction · Novel · Literary Fiction · Literary fiction
Journey in the Dark
Highly regardedPulitzer Prize for Novel (pre-1948), 1944Reading facts
✓ Checked- Reading effort
- 46 / 100Moderate
- Length
- 432 pagesGreenwood Press · 1970
- Reading time
- 8 h 45 minat 50 pages an hour ·
- Pace
- Measured
- Emotional intensity
- 4 / 5
About 8 h 45 min · at 30 minutes a day, about 18 days
Estimated from the page count of this edition. Dense books can take longer than the estimate.
About the book
For Sam Braden, growing up poor in an Iowa town, money promises escape from humiliation, and Eileen Wyatt represents the prosperous world he longs to enter. His attachment to her runs alongside his pursuit of a business career, while his mother and siblings have their own claims on his loyalty. Following Sam from childhood into adulthood, the novel traces how ambition becomes entangled with love, family obligation and the desire to belong.
Reader notes
The family saga unfolds through frequent backward glances and remembered scenes, interrupting the sweep of a lifetime. Its deliberate pace and winding chronology can slow the reading, especially when the narrator returns to events already mentioned.
How it reads
- Writing style
- Descriptive · Direct
- Tone
- Earnest · Intimate · Melancholic · Reflective
- Structure
- Nonlinear
- Driven by
- Character · Ideas · Relationships
- Setting
- Iowa, United States
Reading complexity
- Writing
- 3 / 5
- Ideas
- 3 / 5
- Structure
- 3 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 1 / 5
About this profile
Collected’s assessment, not reader ratings. Complexity runs from 1 (least demanding) to 5 (most demanding).
- Writing
- How much attention the sentences and language require.
- Ideas
- How much interpretation or abstract reasoning the book asks of you.
- Structure
- How much you need to keep track of speakers, timelines and connections.
- Background knowledge
- Prior knowledge needed to follow the book, beyond what it explains.
- Emotional intensity
- Emotional pressure, from gentle (1) to intense (5). Separate from difficulty.
Themes
- Ambition
- Belonging
- Class
- Family
- Marriage
- Parenthood
Content notes
- Violence
- Mild
- Sexual content
- Mild
- Swearing
- Mild
- Substance use
- Mild
- Abuse
- None
- Self-harm or suicide
- None
Standing and awards
Highly regarded
- Pulitzer Prize for Novel (pre-1948), 1944
Questions readers ask
Which edition is shown here?
Greenwood Press · 1970 · print unknown. ISBN 9780837133379.
How long does it take to read Journey in the Dark?
About 8 hours 45 minutes at 50 pages an hour, based on the 432-page Greenwood Press edition. Dense books can take longer.
If you liked this
Edition and details
- Publisher
- Greenwood Press
- Publication year
- 1970
- Format
- print unknown
- Pages
- 432
- ISBN
- 9780837133379
- Edition language
- English
- Original language
- English
- First published
- 1943
- Genres and form
- Fiction · Novel · Literary Fiction · Literary fiction · Family saga · Psychological fiction · Social novel
- Editions
- 4
- Languages
- 1 (English)
The catalog does not yet include a matching edition. Details may differ between editions.