You Can't Go Home Again

By Thomas Wolfe

You Can't Go Home Again is a novel by Thomas Wolfe published posthumously in 1940, extracted by his editor, Edward Aswell, from the contents of his vast unpublished manuscript The October Fair. The novel tells the story of George Webber, a fledgling author, who writes a book that makes frequent references to his home town of Libya Hill. The book is a national success but the residents of the town, unhappy with what they view as Webber's distorted depiction of them, send the author menacing letters and death threats.Wolfe, as in many of his other novels, explores the changing American society of the 1920s/30s, including the stock market crash, the illusion of prosperity, and the unfair passing of time which prevents Webber ever being able to return "home again". In parallel to Wolfe's relationship with America, the novel details his disillusionment with Germany during the rise of Nazism. Wolfe scholar Jon Dawson argues that the two themes are connected most firmly by Wolfe's critique of capitalism and comparison between the rise of capitalist enterprise in the United States in the 1920s and the rise of Fascism in Germany during the same period. The artist Alexander Calder appears, fictionalized as "Piggy Logan."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Wolfe
• Release date: May 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9786050379648

Thomas Wolfe

One of the most important American writers of his generation, Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) was born in Asheville, North Carolina. His other novels include Of Time and the River and Look Homeward, Angel.

Reviews for You Can't Go Home Again

[dbsovereign · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

And you can be sure that Wolfe will tell you all the myraid reasons why!! Over and over again...If it wasn't so poetic and so true, it would be tedious.

[abbeyhar · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

this book is 700 pages long. I got 250 pages in and want sure what else I could get out of it. it was kind of interesting at some points but seemed mostly overwrought and of its time. I kept sending pictures of passages to my friend because they made me laugh with their hyperbolic and grandiose writing style. I don't normally give up on books , but just couldn't make it through the whole thing. glad I gave it a shot, as it is a classic.

[hagelstein_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thomas Wolfe’s “You Can’t Go Home Again” is the story of novelist George Webber in the 1920s and 30s. Webber leaves his home in the south to become a writer in New York. He returns home once just before the publication of his first novel, only to be dismayed by the entire town population’s obsession with speculative real estate, having traded tradition and solidity for the empty promises of obscene profits. After publication, he doesn’t return home because of the upheaval his novel has caused, with what the townspeople believe is its thinly veiled description of their weakest moments. Webber travels to Europe, and Wolfe similarly addresses the upheaval in Germany prior to WWII and how Webber will never be able to return to the same Germany he has grown to love. Webber also forces himself to leave Esther Jacks, his married lover in New York, and his longtime editor – and friend – Foxhall Edwards. Wolfe’s writing meanders and flies away off on tangents – most of which are worthy of stand-alone short story status on their own – as he details social concerns in the U.S. and abroad, and ultimately what he sees as the loss of innocence of George Webber, and the world.

[hankiii · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was the very first Wolfe novel I read; at the time, I liked it, and even wrote a literary analysis for my Southern Lit class. It was the autobiographical aspect of the novel as well as the philosophical ramblings of alienation as an artist that appealed to me.It soon led me to read Look Homeward, Angel, which I found less appealing.

[heidijane_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was ok, but it just didn't hold my attention. I found myself skimming over pages and pages of detail. So I decided that life is too short to persevere with this one and have put it aside for now.

[patience_crabstick · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book. It's long, yes, but Wolfe's writing is so rich. As with Look Homeward Angel, this is the sort of book you need to read twice to truly appreciate. My favorite chapter was the description of his British charwoman and her views of the world.

[foof2you · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A classic story of a man leaving his home town, then writing a book about it. They always say write about what you know and Thomas Wolfe does. We see how the writer is treated in his home town once the book is published and the town folk figure out the story.

[jbreedlove_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wolfe's second novel is based on his experiences in New York after his fame of writing a tell all novel about his home town. Not as descriptive or compelling as Look Homeward, Angel but still a good read.