The Middle Western Farm Novel in the Twentieth Century by Roy W. Meyer, and: A Literary History of Iowa by Clarence A. Andrews (review)

Studies in American Fiction113 can stand as the essence of Farrell's beliefs: "a democratic social philosophy, a pragmatic trust in experience, a naturalistic metaphysics, and an ethics of self-fulfillment in one's personal and occupational lives" (p. 114). John Dewey would, and did, approve. Branch's book is helpful, then, in three ways: for a broad overview; for hints of possible new approaches to Farrell; and for one more piece of documentation in the effort to free the Naturalistic tradition from the bad habits of those critics who longago stopped reading fiction that was not mythic, legendary, or apocalyptic. University of PennsylvaniaDon Graham Meyer, Roy W. The Middle Western Farm Novel in the Twentieth Century. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1971. 265 pp. Paper: $2.45. Andrews, Clarence A. A Literary History of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1972. 287 pp. Cloth: $12.50. There is some justification for considering these two books together. Roy Meyer writes in his introduction, "Restricting a survey of farm fiction largely to the Middle West and to the twentieth century does not constitute a serious limitation. ... Of 141 American novels of known locale listed in Book Review Digest under 'Farm Life' between 1917 and 1962, more than half—77—were middle western." Meyer found, and included in his annotated bibliography, "59 other farm novels set in the Middle West, as well as 4 novels dealing with the adjacent Canadian area." In a footnote he breaks down the Middle West into states: "The 136 American novels listed in my annotated bibliography divide themselves as follows, on the basis of state treated: Iowa, 31; Minnesota, 19; South Dakota, 15; Nebraska, 12; Illinois, 11" (pp. 4-5). Thus there is some basis for thinking of Iowa as the prototype of "the farm state": Iowa has "produced" nearly twice as many farm novels as any other state, followed at a respectful distance by her nearest neighbors. In his Literary History of Iowa Clarence Andrews gives proper attention to the farm novel and to Roy Meyer's study. He quotes Meyer's evaluations of a half dozen Iowa writers. A central chapter, the longest in A Literary History of Iowa, is entided "Farmer in the Dell," and there are separate chapters devoted to such "farm novelists" as Herbert Quick and Ruth Suckow and to three or four distinct regions of the state which boast at least one significant farm novelist each. Both of these are modest and unassuming books: each title warns us that the book we are picking up will be severely limited in scope. As Iowa's borders constrict Andrews' compilation, so the farm bounds Meyer's study. "The first and most essential condition that a novel must meet in order to qualify as farm fiction is that it deal with farm life," Meyer writes in his opening chapter, "What Is a Farm Novel?" He goes on to insist that"its setting must be the farm" and "most of its important characters must be farm people" (p. 7). Although a reader may regret this narrowing of range and intention, he cannot fault an author who is so honest in his title. Meyer explains the deliberate restriction of scope inthe introduction. He will use "rural" and "farm" synonymously after he has corrected the definition of the first word: "The Census Bureau's policy of grouping all communities of less than 2500 inhabitants under the heading of 'rural' is misleading, for thebusinessmanin a town of 1500 feels that he has more in common with his business colleague in a city of 114Reviews 100,000 than with the farmer whose patronage he solicits" (p. 6). He goes on to argue that this "urban orientation" of the small town has increased sharply in the twentieth century, and he cites a socio-political study which found that the rural town which once "fronted toward the farm" now "fronted rather toward the city, imitated the city, and as fast as it could manage, moved to the city" (p. 6). The study quoted is by Theodore Saloutos and John D. Hicks, AgriculturalDiscontent in the Middle West 1900-1939 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1951, pp. 26-27). Meyer and his...