I read Cane for my 20th Century American Lit class.  This is not going to be a regular review, because I don't feel as confident in critiquing this book as I do others.  So, anyway, what I mean to say is, this will be a quick review.

Cane is one of the more experimental American modernist novels.  Toomer has collected stories and poems and even a play and put them in one book.  He separates the three sections with half circles indicating a beginning in the South, a trip to the North, and, finally, a return to the South.  All the Southern sections take place in Georgia, and Northern section takes place in D.C. and Chicago.  

In the first Southern section, Toomer creates the most amazing sense of place.  His words capture exactly how I feel about my home state.  The languidness and heat and underlying sense of danger--all of that is in the first section, and it's so lovely.  The Northern section is faster paced, with more introspection and less sex.  

For the most part, though, I didn't feel I had a good grasp of Toomer's intentions, and I didn't really enjoy reading the book.  Once we talked about it in class, I understood more and appreciated more, but I don't think I will ever read it again.  

No grade for this one.  

Coming up next: The Wicked Ways of a Duke by Laura Lee Guhrke, and Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt