Appointment in Samarra is the first and most famous novel by American writer John O'Hara , written in 1934. Like many other works, the author describes events from the life of the middle layers of American society of the 20s of the last century.
| Date in Samarra | |
|---|---|
| Appointment in Samarra | |
| Genre | novel |
| Author | John O'Hara |
| Original language | English |
| Date of writing | 1934 |
| Date of first publication | 1934 |
| Publishing house | |
Content
Date
The name is a reference to Somerset Maugham's retelling of an ancient Mesopotamian tale, which is given as an epigraph of the novel: A Merchant in Baghdad sends his servant to the market for provisions. Soon after, the servant comes home pale and trembling, and tells him that in the market he encountered a woman in whom he recognized death, and she made a menacing gesture. Having borrowed a merchant’s horse, he rides at high speed to Samarra , which is about 75 miles (125 km) away, where, he believes, death will not find him. The merchant then goes to the market, finds death, and asks why she made a menacing gesture. She replies: “It was not a threatening gesture, I just shuddered in surprise. I was amazed to see him in Baghdad because I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra. ”
In his preface to the 1952 reprint, O'Hara says the working title of the novel was The Infernal Grove. He got the idea for the title, “A Date in Samarra,” when Dorothy Parker showed him the story in Maugham’s play, “Sheppey.” He says that "Dorothy does not like the name, [publisher] Alfred Harcourt does not like the name, his editors did not like it, nobody liked it except me." O'Hara describes it as an indication of "the inevitability of the death of Julian English."
Story
The novel describes the life of Julian English. The hero of the novel is a typical representative of the American middle class, who realized all the opportunities presented in life. Successful marriage, home purchase, membership in privileged private clubs. However, all this turns to nothing after one of the secular receptions of English, at its own whim, succumbs to the temptation to throw a glass of whiskey in the face of a person who, for reasons unknown to himself, annoys him.
Awards and Prizes
In 2007, “Date in Samarra” was included in the 100 best novels of the XX century in English according to the version of Modern Library [1]
In 2011, the book was placed on the list of 100 best novels written in English since 1923, compiled by Time magazine [2] .
Notes
- ↑ 100 Best Novels . Modern Library (2007). Date of treatment October 23, 2009. Archived February 9, 2012.
- ↑ The List | 101 books