Show Boat

The popularity of the Kern-Hammerstein musical, academia's refusal to include the work in the "canon" of regularly-taught American novels, the popular assumptions about the novel's datedness, sentimentality and racial stereotypes--these are some of the factors that have contributed to the comparative neglect of one of the most original, engaging narratives by an American novelist.The so-called "modernist" tradition is one that casts suspicion upon any narrative that might be termed "melodramatic" in its plotting, tone and style. It's true that Ferber plays out the emotions of her characters, but she's equally adept at keeping those emotions in play. Her voice is so vital and strong, her narrative so multilayered in its social-psychological-cultural-archetypal meanings, that an open-minded reader cannot fail to become swept up in the force of her storytelling. Moreover, in her characterization of Magnolia, who defends her unstable marriage against her daughter's staid one and who prefers the tenderloin districts to the churches and parks of Chicago, Ferber reveals the subversiveness of a true artist, making the reader question common assumptions about the dual gods of "success" and "progress."The river and the theater are not only Ferber's favorite settings but her metaphors for exploring the life of consciousness and explaining the forces that shape personality. Even when Gaylord and Magnolia abandon the river and take up residence in Chicago, the river lives in them, exposing by its constantly-felt presence what is alive and dead, what is enduring and transitory. Magnolia's daughter and her husband, the "new" American theater of New York, the "reformed" Chicago--all these are condemned less in the surface narrative than in the energy Ferber brings to the subjects that are closer to her heart: characters and places whose life traces its wellsprings to the river.This is melodrama ("music drama') in the best sense of the word--Ferber's prose evoking the musical elements that invest the narrative with fullness and necessity. The African-American spirituals and folk songs that provide Magnolia's education in turn inform the reader of her values and understandings through the course of her life's journey. Moreover, the narrative's movement matches the river's: it creates unexpected channels, moving forward in time, then backward, a device that enables the narrative to provide a perspective on the past as something familiar, as a place we already know and treasure, a "spot of time" we've been missing and to which we wish to return.But the melodrama also works here because Ferber constantly blurs the line between theater and life, letting us in on the "backstage" action that goes into playing a role and preparing a face. Magnolia blossoms only when she is on the stage, and Gaylord is never closer to authenticity than when he becomes an actor long enough to woo and marry Magnolia. Because Ferber presents her characters as deliberately assuming melodramatic parts, we don't see them as stereotypes as much as fellow beings taking on the roles required of us all to deal with life's changes as symbolized by the river.The musical version has a happy ending, with no deaths, no permanent damage. The sentiments in Ferber's original, on the other hand, are at once higher and deeper--equal parts elegy, stoicism, endurance, resolve. Ferber's last sentence describing Magnolia is a replication of an earlier sentence describing her mother: "The river, the show boat, the straight silent figure were lost to view." By this time Ferber's words have become such an integral part of the reader's consciousness that there's little chance any of these three images will be lost to view.

It's not politically correct but you'll want to come aboard for Show Boat! Edna Ferber's classic tale of three generations of women - and those whom surround them - is beautifully and authenticity written including the horrific treatment of Blacks, who although Emancipated by law still wore the chains of White society. A tale of love, loss and courage, Show Boat should be required reading for our daughters.

This is a classic I had never read and now wish I had read a long time ago. I found it to start off slowly and end very quickly. I think readers may be influenced by the musicals if they have seen them. I kept looking for songs and hearing people singing (in my head only). One of the most enjoyable aspects of the book for me were the profound sentences created by the author. The more closely one reads, the better the reader recognizes the writers ability. As an endorsement I must admit that I am now reading Cimarron and am a Ferber fan. She has an ability to use satire and use it well. I also enjoyed the historical period of the book and life on a showboat.

A very good Ferber story... I was interested in the book because the musical is one of my favorites. It was interesting to see how the musical's story was adapted from a much broader story. As is to be expected, the characters in the book did not always conform to the musical version, and particularly Magnolia's mother plays a much bigger part in the book than in the musical. Much of the book is a type of flashback told by Magnolia's daughter Kim after she has become a famous actress. She is never more than a child in the musical.

I loved this book. The characters were so familiar, the wording so poetic, and the imagery magnificent. I didn’t love the racism throughout the book, but it seems the author included it to show how wrong it was.

If you like history and the South, you'll love this book. Since it was written over 80 years ago the style is a bit dated but that's part of its charm. Ferber's descriptions take you right into the story, which is a faithful depiction of a vanished time in America, perhaps through slightly rose colored glasses. I wish there was a movie version that was faithful to the book. While I can see why Hollywood simplified the plot and gave it a happy ending reuniting the couple, one wonders why some of the changes were necessary. But even with the changes, I am anxiously waiting for the DVD release of the older version with Robeson.

... And it's s big "but." To enjoy this you have to be ready to overlook the overt racist prose. This book is of another time when it was acceptable to express casual condescending views of African Americans all in stride with the story. So,if you can look past these flaws, there is a wonderful story here. It's much richer than any of the movies. The are more complex and there is a romantic tone to the description of life on the Mississippi. I enjoyed this book even though some passages had me cringing.

I have been a life time fan of Edna Ferber's novels. When I was much younger, I had beautiful set of her novels. In the intervening years they were all misplaced through moves. I was happy to see that Amazon had a copy of Show Boat with a dust jacket illustration posted on the Amazon listing. When the book arrived, there was no dust jacket. This is the first item that I have purchased from Amazon that I felt deceived by the on-site graphics. I have kept the very unattractive black, hard cover book only because the words written by Ms. Ferber all those years ago remain priceless to me.

I bought this after watching the Jerome Kern biopic ;Till The Clouds Roll By' and its interesting to compare it to the famous show. Of course, you don't get the fabulous Kern/Hammerstein score but Edna Ferber knows how to tell a story and there is much more detail of steamboat life and Magnolia's later career as the book takes everyone into old age. An excellent read.

Great to read the Novel on which the Classic Musical was based. And interesting to see where the original novel differs from the Moviel

I am only half way through this wonderful, fulsome novel about the life of a family running a Show Boat in the southern states of America in the early 1900's. It is a beautifully written story with a huge range of engaging and complex characters.

It was nice to imagine the river alongside the Showboat and all of the glamour associated with it.

Fascinating