Writing style
Dense · Dialogue-driven · Ornate · Witty
Apple BooksThe man who loved children
Literary fiction · Dark comedy · Satire · Tragedy
- First published
- 1940
- Print length
- 529 pagesAlfred A. Knopf, 1995
Description
Sam Pollit delights in his own image as an enlightened father, filling his crowded 1930s household with games, lectures, private language, and declarations of love. To his wife, Henny, his expansive charm is another form of domination. Their marriage has hardened into open warfare as debt, resentment, and constant upheaval press upon their children. The eldest daughter, Louie, observes the conflict with fierce intelligence, struggling to protect an inner life neither parent will leave untouched. Around her, affection becomes coercion and family intimacy offers no refuge from humiliation. Darkly comic and emotionally severe, the novel examines how a charismatic patriarch’s ideal of domestic happiness can imprison the people he claims to cherish.
Reading profile
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.
Pace
Measured
Tone
Bleak · Dark · Satirical · Unsettling
Structure
Linear
Focus
Character · Relationships · Voice
Emotional intensity
5 / 5
Reading complexity
1–5 · higher means more demanding- Writing
- 4 / 5
- Ideas
- 4 / 5
- Structure
- 3 / 5
- Background knowledge
- 2 / 5
Themes
Book details
For the print edition listed above.
- Publisher
- Alfred A. Knopf
- Language
- English
- ISBN
- 9780679443643
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