skip to main content

Reader's Paradise

Title of book read long ago?

2 years ago

I have been trying to think of the name of a book I read many years ago--maybe in the sixties? I thought it was by one of the muckrakers but am not having any luck searching those titles unless I missed something. And I hope this question is not too grisly. The episode that I remember so vividly is a man on a farm dying in a silo, suffocating in wheat or corn. I apologize if this is too disturbing but I would like to read that book again. It was a novel, not non-fiction. Thanks for any help.

Featured Answer

ginny12
Original Author

2 years ago

I found it! I was just Googling muckrakers again and found a list of the muckrakers and their works. The Octopus by Frank Norris is the book.. I do remember reading it in college or soon after. The summary on Google says it's based on the wheat industry in California. The summary includes the scene I described of the man suffocating in grain. It was a gripping book but that one scene has stayed with me.

Thank you all so very much for all your ideas and suggestions. Your efforts encouraged me to persevere. So glad this is solved!

Comments (15)

colleenoz
2 years ago
Did anything else happen in this book?
ginny12 thanked colleenoz
yoyobon_gw
2 years ago
Wool by Hugh Howley ?
ginny12 thanked yoyobon_gw
Related Discussions
Ever go back and read books that you read
Q
Comments (36)
Oh, yes, I re-read all the time. The ones I re-read the most are Jane Austen's novels, the "Outlander" series by Diana Gabaldon, "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy (one of my favorite books ever), and "Far From the Madding Crowd" by Thomas Hardy. I've re-read "To Kill a Mockingbird," too, but only 3-4 times.:)
...See More
Can you tell a book by it's cover? Or title?
Q
Comments (10)
Interesting subject Yvonne, as I have been planning to buy a copy of Jane Eyre for a friend who, somehow had never read it. She claims her class never 'did' it at school, which seems a feeble excuse for never reading it. ;-) Anyway I was looking at the Book Depository site (free delivery to Canada being too good an offer to turn down) and came up with over seven hundred choices . . . If you had never heard of Jane Eyre and looked at even 20 of them, I wonder how many of those covers would give you a clue to what lay inside? May be the ones showing a single female, or the 'artist's impression' of a busty female and a hunky guy. But what about rugged mountains, coastal scenes and ones so 'obscure' they have no 'meaning' at all? Answers on a post card please. Here is a link that might be useful: Will the Real Jane Eyre . . . .
...See More
Need help finding title of book...
Q
Comments (3)
I was thinking an early Dean Koontz, until you got to the part where you say "The pilot along with his new girlfriend joint the army . . ", so its probably not, though it wouldn't hurt to check some of his early stuff out.
...See More
Crazy-Making Book Titles
Q
Comments (30)
Kath, I wasn't familiar with Mackellar's poem, thanks for posting it. UK book titles are the same as the Australian ones. Downunder is still a a recognised term for Australia here though I don't suppose they call England 'Upover' anymore than they used to refer to us as home. BTW I felt that Downunder was rather thin on substance. I don't think BB had spent long enough there. I never realised that A Town Like Alice had an American title. I remember when I first heard the book mentioned, as a child, it sounded 'unusual' but can't see why US readers seem not to be expected (by editors/movie folk) to be capable of dealing with the occasional oddity. Whatever the title I think it is still a cracking read. On the Beach is another one with a most unusual 'plot' that works surprisingly well . . . for a story dealing with nuclear fall-out. re Fuller's book. I think the title is Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight which has been well-recommended over here. I haven't read it but usually the expression 'going to the dogs' or if you are from London 'going down the dogs' means spending the evening at the local 'dog track' ie greyhound racing. I think the book is set in Rhodesia and I have no idea if there were any 'dog tracks' or if white people would have been seen there. 'Going to the Dogs' also means a deterioration in ones circumstances/business/way of life. Mary does any of the above appear in the book?
...See More
ginny12
Original Author
2 years ago
I haven' read 'Wool' so it's not that. And sorry I remember so little, just think it was a muckraker type of book and set in the US, probably in the Midwest. I even just re-read Upton Sinclair's 'The Jungle' for the first time in many years as I thought it was that but it wasn't. 'The Jungle' is still a very powerful book and was well worth re-reading so no time lost.

Of course, it may not have been a muckraker book so I should not get fixated on that. Thanks for the replies.
yoyobon_gw
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Could it be The Dressmaker by Jack Baker?

https://jbakerau.com/english/the-dressmaker/
ginny12 thanked yoyobon_gw
Rosefolly
2 years ago
I knew people die in grain bin accidents, but I had no idea how frequently it happens until I tried to find this book. Apparently there are a couple of dozen each year. It seems that silos are very dangerous.

I only found one novel, and it was published too recently to meet your description. It is The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, 2018.

If you remember more about this book, perhaps we could try again.
ginny12 thanked Rosefolly
ginny12
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks for these replies. Unfortunately it is neither of these books. As mentioned, I read this book in the 1960s or early 70s at the latest. I'm so sorry I can't provide more helpful info.

Yes, Rosefolly, when I was searching myself I discovered how common these accidents are. Horrible.
yoyobon_gw
2 years ago
ginny......since you don't remember any other facts about the book perhaps you might enjoy any of these silo disasters just as much !!! lol
ginny12 thanked yoyobon_gw
ginny12
Original Author
2 years ago
Oh, no! One is enough!
masgar14
2 years ago
ginny12, I post your request on librarything, where there is a group attending by people who enjoy to do this kind of reseaarces, but the only answer I got i this, I don't think it can be much of help for you. "That sounds like a scene from the movie "Witness" "
ginny12 thanked masgar14
ginny12
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks so much for that but I did not read that book. Saw the movie tho. If I ever find the answer, I will be sure to post it here.
sheri_z6
2 years ago
Ginny, was it Upton Sinclair's The Jungle? I read it in high school 30 years ago and I know that was about the meat packing industry, but something niggles in the back of my mind about a grain elevator .... I hope you find out what the book was, now I want to know, too :)
ginny12 thanked sheri_z6
ginny12
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks but it wasn't The Jungle. As I mentioned above, I had thought it was and re-read that book. It's still brilliant but the scene is not in that book.
msmeow
2 years ago
Yay, Ginny! Now we can all sleep tonight! lol

Donna
ginny12 thanked msmeow
yoyobon_gw
2 years ago
There is a correlation here somewhere between this search and passing a kidney stone.....lol
ginny12 thanked yoyobon_gw

Sign Up to Comment

Related Stories

HOMES AROUND THE WORLD World of Design: 11 Book Lovers and Where They Like to Read

Bibliophiles across the globe reveal their top books and favorite reading spots, from a 2-story library to an artfully curated book nook

FEEL-GOOD HOME 15 Cozy Book Nooks and What They Want You to Read

By Becky Harris

Put the beach reads away; these comfy spaces are creating a fall reading list. What books do they suggest to you?

BOOKS Book to Know: 'Long Island Modernism 1930-1980'

Photographs mix with social history from the architectural highlights of Long Island's suburbanization

DENS AND LIBRARIES 20 Book Lover’s Spaces That Will Make You Want to Read

By Becky Harris

Borrow these ideas from spaces designed around a love of books

LIFE Houzz Call: Where (and What) Are You Reading This Summer?

By Stacy Briscoe

Whether you favor contemporary, classic or beach reads, do the long and lazy days of summer bring out the lit lover in you?

MORE ROOMS 24 Amazing Walls of Books

Take a page from wall-high shelves for books remembered, and yet to read

DECLUTTERING How to Let Go of Unwanted Books and Magazines

By Tailorly, Professional Home Organizing

Buried in reading material? This guide will help you decide what to keep and what to give away, sell or recycle

LIFE Simple Pleasures: Get a Book Club Going

By Laura Gaskill

Kick back with friends and a thought-provoking read for an event that’s entertaining and educational all at once

DECORATING GUIDES Novel Ways With Bedroom Books

By Matthew Ankeny

Reading and relaxing go hand in hand. See how designers are incorporating mini and all-out libraries in the bedroom

DECORATING PROJECTS DIY Project: Vintage Book Wallpaper

Give your home getaway a well-read look with writing on the wall

Sponsored

Remodel Repair Construction

9 Reviews

Industry Leading General Contractors in Westerville

More Discussions

Best Reads of 2023

9

February ......what are you reading !? ,

56

The Game for March

106

Help me find this quartet--WW II France

3

2024 Hugo Award nominees are here

1