The Octopus A Story Of California

At first glance, wheat farming may not appear to be a scintillating topic for a novel, but in the hands of renowned social realist Frank Norris, this seemingly quotidian activity is transformed into a fascinating analysis of the economic factors that spurred the expansion into the western United States. The first novel in a planned trilogy that Norris never completed, The Octopus: A Story of California is an enlightening and gratifying read.

"The Pit" by Frank Norris. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart. When you sit down with Lily and the Octopus, you will be taken on an unforgettable ride. The magic of this novel is in the read, and we don’t want to spoil it by giving away too many details. We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without. For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog. Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all. Remember the last book you told someone they had to read? Lily and the Octopus is the next one.

Collected in one omnibus edition are Frank Norris' three most important novels: The Octopus and its sequel The Pit as well as McTeague.The Octopus: A Story of California is a story of cooperate greed power and abuse. A group of wheat farmers agree to work a railway company's land in exchange for assurances that after a ten year period they will be able to purchase the land at a reasonable price. When it comes time for the purchase of the land the railway company decides to go back on its promise and brings all of their power to bear against the farmers in a deceitful and bloody confrontation. Inspired by Southern Pacific Railroad's action in the Mussel Slough Tragedy. The Pit: a Story of Chicago is a story about corruption greed and redemption. Curtis Jadwin a rich and powerful capitalist decides to corner the market on wheat ignoring the misery and pain that this attempt will bring on those who need the crop to survive. Ultimately he has no idea how much this attempt will cost him and what it will take to find redemption.McTeague: A Story of San Francisco is a novel about love obsession murder and greed. McTeague a young dentist becomes obsessed with Trina one of his patients. The pair eventually marry and descend together into depravity and moral decay. A powerful harrowing book.

The Octopus: A Story of California is a novel written by author Frank Norris. The Octopus is about wheat growers who are in conflict with a railroad company during late 19th century California. The railroad company, controlling the local newspaper, state legislature and the land prove to be a tough force for the local wheat growers to fight against. The Octopus is highly recommended for those who are interested in novels taking place in early California and also those who enjoy the writings of author Frank Norris.

Like his more famous contemporary Upton Sinclair, American author BENJAMIN FRANKLIN NORRIS, JR. (1870-1902) also highlighted the corruption and greed of corporate monopolies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries... themes that continue to make his work riveting reading more than a century later. The Octopus, first published in 1901, is the tale of a war between wheat growers in California and the Railroad Trust. Rancher Magnus Derrick and railroad representative S. Behrman square off-to disastrous results-as poet Presley, a stand-in for Norris, observes and chronicles the tragedy. The first part of Norris's projected "Trilogy of the Epic of the Wheat," The Octopus is followed by 1903's The Pit, also available from Cosimo. (Norris died before he could write the third volume, The Wolf.)

An unsentimental look at the lives of farmers and businessmen in the late 19th century, ‘The Octopus’ details the expansion of the railroad, its tracks spreading out like tentacles across the US. We follow the farmers as they are slowly crushed by the pressures put on them by this new industry, due to the greed and corruption of cold, corporate businessmen, who are willing to go to unsavoury lengths to ensure they do not lose out on the possible financial rewards. Written without any romanticism, ‘The Octopus’ gives a fascinating insight into the effects of industrialism, and the subsequent avarice that inevitably follows. Frank Norris (1870 – 1902) was born Benjamin Franklin Norris, in Chicago. Widely hailed as the first American ‘naturalist’ writer, he was the son of a self-made businessman and an actress. After the death of his brother, Norris went to Paris to study art at the Académie Julian. While there, he was introduced to the novels of Émile Zola, who was to profoundly influence his work. His later studies at the University of Berkeley exposed him to the works of Charles Darwin, which would heavily impact his writing. It was at university, via the ‘San Francisco Wave ́, that he first published his stories. When he left Berkeley to go to Harvard, he was persuaded to pursue a literary career by fellow author, Lewis E Gates. Many of Norris’ works deal with how corporate corruption affects those at the lower end of the financial spectrum, and further act as fantastic documents of American life in the late 19th century and the early 20th century.