The Time of Man: A Novel

Where does one begin discussing this book? The first novel of a little-known poet, it catapulted Elizabeth Madox Roberts to international fame, was reprinted by the Modern Library, and assured its author a devoted following that included such luminaries as Yvor Winters, Harte Crane, Allen Tate, Glenway Wescot, and Robert Penn Warren. Yet some eighty-plus years later, "The Time of Man" and its author are sadly neglected, though to be sure, there are glimmers of hope that this neglect is slowly being rectified.Robert Penn Warren's 1963 assessment of the novel now serves as one of the introductions to the University Press of Kentucky edition. Warren speculates that the novel fell victim to attitudes of the 1930s: any work of fiction that depicted characters finding dignity "within" poverty and deprivation was viewed as subtle complicity with degrading socio-economic conditions, rather than a protest against them. Elizabeth Madox Roberts is no guiltier of this than Eudora Welty, who wrote of Depression-era Mississippi: "Whatever you may think of those lives as symbols of a bad time, the human beings who were living those lives thought a good deal more of them than that." Welty adds, "Trouble, even to the point of disaster, has its pale, and these defiant things of the spirit repeatedly go beyond it, joy the same as courage."Well, there is joy and courage aplenty in "The Time of Man," and one would be hard pressed to find a character whose spirit is more defiant than Ellen Chesser's. Daughter of a poor, itinerant farmer who barely scratches out a living, the novel begins with childhood, and the opening scene finds Ellen tracing her name with her finger on empty air. Many years and many hard battles later, when her own teenage children are outdoors, dancing by firelight, Ellen is persuaded to join them. Suddenly she notices her shadow on the ground and is amazed by its ease and lightness. What lies between these two scenes is simply the time of man--the progression of a human life in all its sorrow and joy, in a time and place where all life stirs to the rhythms of the natural world, in all its beauty and rigor. The small measure of peace that Ellen finds in maturity is taxed yet again as the novel draws to its somber yet hopeful conclusion.It's reassuring to note that the emotions captured in this novel are timeless and transcend setting and historical time period, the hallmark of any great work of fiction. Elizabeth Madox Roberts gives each period of Ellen's life an epic treatment--childhood hurt and disappointment; first love; first heart ache; true love and the inevitable drifting apart that so often follows; childbirth and the deaths of loved ones. Throughout all this are the seasonal sowing and reaping, the endless struggle with nature that is both beautiful and menacing. "A drouth came, hard and brittle in the soil and in the sturdy little pasture herbs, but soft and pliant in the hazes that gathered over the far hills."It would be impossible to single out one stage in Ellen's life that is the most beautifully rendered, but Roberts outdoes herself when depicting Ellen's struggle to cope with the loss of her first love. The family has relocated yet again, and the new place offers but one consolation: Ellen's barren room is the only one she has ever slept in that didn't leak. On a rainy winter night, she begins to pull herself together. "Ellen felt the snugness of the night, the dark outside, the falling wet, the dry security of the indoors, so that in her room, shut away from the elements, she felt the security to be within herself as if she were detached by the prison-like whiteness of the dry walls from her own memories, to begin her being anew." Here, all the dominant aspects of the book--poverty, the elements, and the tireless struggle to find meaning and dignity in life--are brought together in a transcendent, tender moment.I have a master's degree in English. More importantly, I've devoted my entire life to reading as many great books as I can lay my hands on. In actuality not much of a boast, as it would take several lifetimes to do the job really well. I say all that only to offer this: no book I've ever encountered in my life is more worthy of being read and remembered than "The Time of Man."

I am interested in novels set in rural areas in the late 1880s. This is a fine one. Mostly I need farm fiction to be an accurate depiction of life around 1910. I can determine this a little by considering what is described vs what I've learned by doing oral histories on my parents My mother described farm life in Appalachia much as it is shown in this novel. Her father was a tenant farmer with an itch to move to a new farm. I learned much from reading this novel and it relates to my own background.

This is excellent writing. It is slow reading because the story takes place so long ago when everything moved along slower. Also, I read slowly because I'm a writer and I go back and re-read constantly. Roberts was an excellent writer who gave her characters great depth even though they were people with simple needs and experiences. I read this book on the recommendation of Earl Hamner (who wrote the Waltons, Falcon Crest and some Twilight Zone episodes) and I wasn't disappointed. I read it along with a livelier, more current book, which helped pick up the pace. It's not a quick read, it needs to be nibbled on and slowly digested.Cynthia Briggs/Author Pork Chops and Applesauce: A Collection of Recipes and Reflections

It's very wordy and a long slog, but there's an interesting story buried in it. And if you're someone who enjoys getting lost in well-evoked setting, you'll be in clover. This is a coming of age story set in rural Kentucky in the early 20th Century. It follows Ellen Chesser from 13 years old until late middle age. Ellen's introspection is well handled as she matures throughout the course of the book.

I always enjoy a look into lives of people who have to work hard to survive. I had some of those hard times growing up, but nothing like the people in this book. I enjoyed it very much, and it has been a long time since I read it and think I will dig it out and read it again.

A typical classic. Language is a little dated, as is usually the case, but a great read.

A beautiful and unstoppable work of American art.

Beautifully written! A classic!!