Cover of The Octopus

The Octopus

by Unknown Author

4.3
(3 ratings)
688 pages1986Penguin ClassicsISBN 9780140390407

About this book

Nominally, a fictional story of the disputes between a railroad and ranchers in California, it was actually a stern critique of the Central Pacific Railroad based on the famous "Mussel Slough Tragedy" where a shootout occurred between railroad men and citizens of a small California town. The Octopus was originally planned to be part one of a three part trilogy, The Epic of the Wheat. Part two, The Pit, was published later but Norris died before completing the third novel.

Publication Details

Publisher
Penguin Classics
Published
1986
Pages
688
ISBN
9780140390407

About Unknown Author

Frank Norris, (1870-1902), was an American novelist and journalist and a leader of the Naturalism movement. Norris believed that a novel should serve a moral purpose. "The novel with a purpose," he explained, "brings the tragedies and griefs of others to notice" and "prove(s) that injustice, crime, and inequality do exist." [Source][1] [1]: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/timeline/norris.html

Track your reading journey with BookOwl