Number Nine

Last Saturday, I noted that I had finished reading book #7 on the list of top ten best selling novels of 1917 and had begun reading # 8 - His Family by Ernest Poole.

I can understand why Poole won first Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for His Family. Poole was a political activist - even up to the point of joining the early Socialist Party of America. His Family is not a socialist novel, by any means, but it shows Poole was very much concerned with the problems of the poor and the immigrant in early 20th century America.

When I began rereading In the Wilderness (#7) I noted that 3 of the first six novels on the list had referenced the First World War. That war did not come up in book 7 but it did play a role in Poole's novel. So, of the eight best sellers of 1917, four mention the war. After finishing Poole's novel this afternoon, I began reading #9 - The Definite Object by Jeffery Farnol. There has been no mention of a date in the novel, and it's too early to know if Farnol will make note of the war. The Definite Object seems to be the most light hearted on the top ten list - there's a bit of comedy. Perhaps, Farnol might have felt the war would be a drag on the story. We'll see.