'Life . . . As We See It'

 

“The function of the novelist . . . is to comment upon life as he sees it.” – Frank Norris
 

Born in Chicago in March of 1870, Norris wrote as a “naturalist,” shocking many readers with his sometimes brutal and graphic depictions.    

 

The author of 11 novels, 3 nonfiction books and numerous essays, he is perhaps best known for his trilogy The Octopus, The Pit, and The Wolf  -- the latter only partially completed when he suddenly and unexpectedly died in 1902 from complications while in surgery.  The 3 stories follow the journey of a crop of wheat from its planting in California to its ultimate consumption as bread in Western Europe.  Along the way, much suffering and death follow the storyline and its key characters as greed and harsh conditions often stand in their way.

 

Sometimes criticized for his depictions of suffering caused by corrupt and greedy turn-of-the-century corporate monopolies, he stood solidly behind his writing for both its in-depth research and for being morally correct and truthful.   And, he is credited with having an impact on influential leaders like Theodore Roosevelt, who cited Norris in his efforts to reform the big corporations.

 

“Truth,” Norris wrote, “is a thing immortal and perpetual, and it gives to us a beauty that fades not away in time.”