Vandover and the Brute

Vandover and the Brute is a novel written by American author Frank Norris. The book follows the life of Vandover, a young artist living in San Francisco during the late 19th century. Vandover is a talented and ambitious young man who is determined to make a name for himself in the world of art. However, his life takes a dark turn when he becomes involved with a woman named Flossie. Flossie is a beautiful and seductive woman who leads Vandover down a path of self-destruction. As Vandover becomes more and more obsessed with Flossie, he begins to neglect his art and his health. He becomes a victim of his own passions and eventually descends into a life of poverty and degradation. The novel is a powerful and tragic portrayal of the destructive power of love and desire. It is a haunting and unforgettable portrait of a young man who is consumed by his own passions and ultimately destroyed by them.1914. The overriding theme in Norris' fiction is the impact of industrialization on peaceful agricultural communities and the consequent chaos in the lives of people who lived in these communities. Written almost simultaneously with his great work, McTeague, Norris began writing Vandover and the Brute in Cambridge and completed it after his return to San Francisco. The influence of the great Frenchman, Emil Zola is apparent throughout the book. The novel begins: It was always a matter of wonder to Vandover that he was able to recall so little of his past life. With the exception of the most recent events he could remember nothing connectedly. What he at first imagined to be the story of his life, on closer inspection turned out to be but a few disconnected incidents that his memory had preserved with the greatest capriciousness, absolutely independent of their importance. One of these incidents might be a great sorrow, a tragedy, a death in his family; and another, recalled with the same vividness, the same accuracy of detail, might be a matter of the least moment. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.