Cimarron

Finished Cimarron by Edna Ferber, originally published in 1929. Set in the late 1800s and early 1900s, the book documents the events in the lives of Yancy and Sabra Cravat in Oklahoma Territory. It has the feeling of a tall tale. Many of the events and characters seem larger than life.

One thing that Ferber always seems to do in her novels is to paint a character as a perceived stereotype, introduce them as such to the reader, and then build that character outward and away from the stereotype. In this novel she does so with Native Americans, African Americans and Jews. A few of her characters are open minded and accepting of all people, while some will accept certain groups, but not others. This makes her characters complex and very human.

Although parts of this book were disturbing, I really enjoyed it.