Literary Fiction · HopefulA schoolteacher turned farmer raises her son alone
So Big
by Edna Ferber
A woman farms alone in a Dutch community near Chicago to raise her son
So Big follows Selina Peake De Jong, a schoolteacher who marries a Dutch farmer in the farming country of South Holland, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. After his death she raises their son Dirk, nicknamed So Big, alone, working hard to give him a future. Dirk grows up valuing money over the artistic ideals his mother has always held.
More about this book
Who
Selina Peake De Jong; her husband Pervus; their son Dirk, called So Big; Roelf Pool, a young artist who later becomes a famous sculptor; and Dallas O'Mara, an acclaimed artist.
World
The Dutch farming community of South Holland, Illinois, near Chicago.
What makes it different
It won the 1925 Pulitzer Prize and was the best-selling work of fiction in America for 1924, according to Publishers Weekly. It has been filmed three times, in 1924, 1932 and 1953.
Feel
Warm and determined.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Behind the book
The novel was inspired by the life of Antje Paarlberg in South Holland, Illinois.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- So BigWikipedia